Human Trafficking Foundation

2013

25 Feb 2013: Column 8W

Prosecutions

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Attorney-General (1) for what reasons the Crown Prosecution Service does not record the numbers of cases referred to it by the police for offences other than rape and human-trafficking; [144138] (2) whether the Crown Prosecution Service plans to record the numbers of cases referred to it by the police for offences other than rape and human trafficking. [144054]

The Solicitor-General: The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has no plans to record the numbers of cases referred to it by the police for offences other than rape and human trafficking.

Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) records identify the number of suspects referred to the CPS for a charging decision through its electronic Case Management System (CMS) and are extracted through the related Management Information Systems (MIS) database. It is not possible to disaggregate figures to show separately the volumes of charging decisions for each individual offence, but some limited information may be abstracted where a national monitoring flag has been applied by a member of staff. Monitoring flags for rape and human trafficking are applied to a range of individual statutory offences which the CPS categorise under those headings. It is not possible to disaggregate figures to show separately the volumes of charging decisions for each individual offence on these lists.

In addition to these monitoring flags, designed to capture and report statistics on specific sets of offences, there are a number of flags which indicate the type of criminality rather than the actual offence alleged to have been committed. These flags comprise:

Child abuse;

Crimes against an older person;

Disability hate crime;

Domestic violence;

Forced marriage;

Homophobic and transphobic hate crime;

Honour crime;

Racist hate crime;

Religious hate crime.

The CPS collects data to assist in the effective management of its prosecution functions. There has not previously been a business need to know the number of each separate offence referred to the CPS for advice by the police. The CPS does not collect data that constitutes official statistics as defined in the Statistics and Registration Service Act 2007. The official statistics relating to crime and policing are maintained by the Home Office (HO) and the official statistics relating to sentencing, criminal court proceedings, offenders brought to justice, the courts and the judiciary are maintained by the Ministry of Justice (MOJ).

25 Feb 2013: Column 119W

Human Trafficking Ministerial Group

Andrew Griffiths: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department for how long the Inter-Departmental Ministerial Group on Human Trafficking was suspended before it was reconvened in May 2010. [142408]

Mr Harper [holding answer 11 February 2013]: In May 2010 the Inter-Departmental Ministerial Group was refocused to take forward this Government’s priorities on human trafficking and has met regularly to fulfil that role.

25 Feb 2013: Column WA275

Violence Against Women

Question Asked by Lord Lester of Herne Hill

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they adopt the United Nations’ definition of violence against women and girls, which includes prostitution and human trafficking.[HL5630]

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Home Office (Lord Taylor of Holbeach): The UK joined consensus on the 1993 UN Declaration on the Elimination of Violence Against Women (UN General Assembly resolution 48/104), and thereby agreed the UN definition of violence against women. This definition includes forced prostitution and human trafficking.

14 Feb 2013: Column 866W

Human Trafficking

Sir Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the (a) nationality and (b) gender was of each suspected victim of trafficking referred to the Trafficking Victim Support Scheme operated by the Salvation Army in January 2013; in which region each of the suspected victims was found; and which agency referred each case to the scheme. [142805]

Mrs Grant: In January 2013 there were 66 referrals to the Government-funded support service for adult victims of human trafficking in England and Wales administered by The Salvation Army. In the interests of victim safety the region in which the victim was encountered is provided rather than the local authority. Details are provided in the following table:

13 Feb 2013: Column 754W

Slavery

Sir Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice if he will record which local authority areas victims of slavery were found in prior to their referral to the National Referral Mechanism. [142804]

Mr Harper: I have been asked to reply on behalf of the Home Department.

Data on the location of the local authority where victims of human trafficking have been found is not routinely recorded at present. As set out in the inter-departmental ministerial group report on human trafficking, published on 18 October 2012, the Government are focusing on improving its collection of data on human trafficking victims to strengthen the UK’s response to this crime.

13 Feb 2013: Column 766W

Children in Care: Missing Persons

Michael Connarty: To ask the Secretary of State for Education (1) how many children placed in care ran away or went missing from local authority care in each of the last three years; [140823]

(2) how many child victims of human trafficking ran away or went missing from local authority care in each of the last three years. [140824]

Mr Timpson: Data on the number of children who go missing from their care placements for more than 24 hours is collected by the Department for Education and shown in the table. While these figures will include some children who may have been trafficked, it is not possible to disaggregate the number of trafficked or potentially trafficked children.

There are however significant differences between the data collected by DFE and the police on children who go missing from care. We want better, consistent data, and more importantly, better practice to keep these young people safe. An expert group on data has been looking at this issue. We will begin piloting a new data collection in the next few months. This will, for the first time, collect information on all children who go missing from their placement, not just those missing for 24 hours, enabling better analysis and more effective practice to safeguard these young people.

Local authorities have an overall statutory duty to safeguard and promote the welfare of children. This includes preventing and mitigating the risk of them going missing from care. Local authorities work in close co-operation with the police and the UK Border Agency to support, and provide protection for, potentially trafficked children. Our forthcoming revised statutory guidance on children who go missing from home or care will include advice on how to safeguard trafficked children. We have also asked the Refugee Council and The Children’s Society to carry out a review of the practical care arrangements for children in care who may have been trafficked.

12 Feb 2013: Column 697W

Prosecutions

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Attorney-General for which offences the Crown Prosecution Service records the number of referrals it receives from the police for a charging decision. [142479]

The Solicitor-General: The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) maintains no central record of the offences or category of offences on cases referred to the CPS for a charging decision. However, some limited records are held, by way of monitoring flags applied to the case record on the Case Management System (CMS), for the numbers of pre-charge decisions recorded against suspects considered for offences of rape or human trafficking. The figures reported by way of monitoring flags, are dependent upon lawyers and administrative staff identifying cases and flagging them on CMS.

A rape or human trafficking flag is applied at the onset of a case, and remains in place even if the charges are subsequently amended or dropped. If a case commences under a different offence but at a later date charges of rape or human trafficking are preferred, the flag will be applied at that point. Such charges may be considered at the time of the pre-charge decision but, following the charging decision, a defendant may be charged with another offence. Similarly, there may be cases where a person was proceeded against for offences of rape or human trafficking but convicted of a lesser offence.

11 February 2013: Column 472W

Slavery

Michael Connarty: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps she is taking to train police officers to help identify victims of slavery. [142062]

Mr Jeremy Browne: Combating human trafficking is part of core police business. All new police officers receive mandatory training on trafficking and existing officers have access to awareness material.

In England and Wales over 18,000 police staff  have completed an e-learning package on human trafficking. Many forces also have their own human trafficking training.

11 Feb 2013 : Column 510W

Social Security Benefits: Fraud

Andrew Griffiths: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the amount of benefit fraud procured through the victims of human trafficking. [142254]

Mr Hoban: The information requested is not available.

6 Feb 2013: Column WA71

Human Trafficking

Questions Asked by Baroness Doocey

To ask Her Majesty’s Government how often meetings have been held between the British Transport Police and Eurostar to discuss child trafficking. [HL5019]

To ask Her Majesty’s Government how often the Metropolitan Police Paladin team have met representatives of Eurostar to discuss child trafficking. [HL5020]

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Home Office (Lord Taylor of Holbeach): Policing at St Pancras comes under the British Transport Police’s jurisdiction. The British Transport Police attend quarterly industry led meetings with Eurostar, at which control authority issues such as child trafficking are discussed. Paladin is a Metropolitan Police led operational team and stakeholder engagement is handled by the British Transport Police.

6 Feb 2013: Column 254W

Slavery

Michael Connarty: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps she is taking to improve data collection about victims of slavery. [142061]

Mr Harper: The report of the Inter-Departmental Ministerial Group (IDMG) on Human Trafficking, published on 18 October 2012, highlighted data collection as one of three areas the Government wishes to strengthen in its response to this crime. The Home Office is working with a range of partners and progress on this area will be set out in the next IDMG report.

5 Feb 2013: Column 151W

Children: Human Trafficking

Michael Connarty: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what pilot schemes his Department is funding to improve the care of child victims of human trafficking. [140816]

Mr Timpson: The Department for Education (DFE) is supporting a Barnardo’s project through an investment of £1.4 million over two years from 2011-12 to 2012-13. This project is developing specialised foster care placements for victims of trafficking and child sexual exploitation, and a high quality two day training course for foster carers.

The DFE is currently considering applications from voluntary and community sector organisations for grants for the years 2013-14 and 2014-15.

5 Feb 2013: Column 121W

Human Trafficking: Children

Mr Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps her Department is taking to rehabilitate children who have been trafficked into the UK. [141511]

Mr Harper: The Government is fully committed to safeguarding victims of child trafficking.

Where a child has been trafficked and is identified as a child in need, the local authority must carry out an assessment to establish the child’s support needs. Where a child is likely to suffer, or is suffering, significant harm, the local authority must investigate under section 47 (child protection) and provide the necessary support services. Those that come into care, and this includes unaccompanied migrant children, receive the full range of support and care that all looked after children are entitled to. A social worker must assess the needs of each child and draw up a care plan which sets out how the authority intends to respond to the full range of the child’s needs. This includes access to health, education, psychological support and appropriate and safe accommodation

5 Feb 2013: Column 121W

Human Trafficking

Mrs Ellman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department in which local authority areas victims of human trafficking in England and Wales were discovered prior to their referral to the Salvation Army victim support scheme in each of the last five years; and if she will make a statement. [141303]

Mr Harper: Data on the location of the local authority where victims of human trafficking have been found is not routinely recorded.

As set out in the Inter-Departmental Ministerial Group report on human trafficking, published on 18 October 2012, the Government is focusing on improving its collection of data on human trafficking victims to strengthen the UK’s response to this crime.

5 Feb 2013: Column 210W

Developing Countries: Human Trafficking

Michael Connarty: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development (1) what steps she is taking to help victims of human trafficking return to their countries of origin and provide reintegration support; [140825]

(2) which organisations and countries are in receipt of Government funding for the rehabilitation and reintegration of victims of human trafficking to their country of origin; and what the value of such funding is; [140826]

(3) how many victims of human trafficking and slavery have been returned to their country of origin; and how much funding her Department has provided to help with their reintegration to date. [141350]

Lynne Featherstone: Responsibility for helping victims of trafficking return to their countries of origin rests with the UK Border Agency (UKBA), with support from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO). The Department for International Development (DFID) supports reintegration for victims of trafficking indirectly through its contribution to the Returns and Reintegration Fund, jointly managed by UKBA, FCO, DFID and Ministry of Justice. In 2012-13, DFID contributed £2 million.

4 Feb 2013: Column 25W

Human Trafficking: Children

Mr Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what procedures the UK Border Agency has put in place to identify possible child trafficking victims. [141512]

Mr Harper: The UK Border Agency and Border Force play vital roles in disrupting trafficking attempts abroad and detecting trafficking both at the border and within the UK. All front-line staff are trained in child safeguarding and to spot indicators of human trafficking; multi-agency child safeguarding and investigation teams are in place at the UK’s major ports; and a system of alerts and other intelligence tools are used to give officers the information they need to intervene in cases of suspected trafficking.

The UK Border Agency and Border Force are also two of the key agencies involved in the National Referral Mechanism (NRM), the UK’s framework for identifying and supporting trafficking victims. Together with other front line agencies such as the police, local authorities and voluntary sector organisations, the NRM shares information and expertise that can be used to confirm victim status and ensure appropriate care is provided.

4 Feb 2013: Column 62W

(Attorney-General) Human Trafficking

Fiona Mactaggart: To ask the Attorney-General pursuant to the answer of 8 January 2012, Official Report, columns 156-7, how many (a) prosecutions and (b) convictions for human trafficking there have been in each of the last three years; and where that information is publicly recorded.

The Solicitor-General: The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) collects data to assist in the effective management of its prosecution functions; it does not collect data which constitutes official statistics as defined in the Statistics and Registration Service Act 2007.

Since April 2010, all CPS areas are required to place an electronic flag on the CPS Case Management System (CMS) from the pre-charge stage for all cases of human trafficking. This includes all cases which have commenced as a human trafficking charge but then proceed to prosecution on a different charge or result in a conviction for a different offence, and 64 cases where human trafficking was the main offence.

These cases were not recorded separately as my earlier answer suggested. This will be recorded in the CPS Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) annual report. The following table shows the number and outcome of cases flagged as human trafficking for the last three years to date.

4 Feb 2013: Column 31W

Home Department (Slavery)

Mr Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department

(1) what information is used to map the location of victims of slavery in England and Wales;

(2) if she will record the local authority areas where victims of slavery were found prior to their referral to the National Referral Mechanism;

(3) whether her Department collects data on which local authority areas victims of slavery have been found in England and Wales prior to their referral to the National Referral Mechanism; and if she will make a statement.

Mr Harper: Intelligence and organised crime group mapping techniques are used to identify areas of the UK where exploitation occurs.

Data on the local authority area where victims of human trafficking have been found are not currently routinely recorded.

As set out in the Inter-Departmental Ministerial Group report on human trafficking, published on 18 October 2012, the Government is focusing on improving its collection of data on human trafficking victims to strengthen the UK’s response to this crime.

1 February 2013

Written (Healthcare: Immigrants)

Question Asked by Lord Taylor of Warwick

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they will take to improve access to healthcare for immigrants.

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Health (Earl Howe): Anyone can register with a general practitioner for free primary health care. National Health Service hospital treatment is free to anyone who is living in the United Kingdom on a lawful and properly settled basis or who is otherwise exempt from charges under Regulations, such as refugees, asylum seekers and victims of human trafficking.

We are taking steps to address the poor health outcomes experienced by vulnerable migrants and the difficulties that they, and other vulnerable groups, face in accessing some health services. We have developed an inclusion health programme, through which we are working with other government departments, the NHS and the third sector to tackle the poor health of people in vulnerable groups and to ensure everyone gets the care they need, regardless of their needs or circumstances.

30 Jan 2013: Column 895

Stephen Phillips (Sleaford and North Hykeham) (Con): My right hon. Friend will be aware of the huge difficulties in returning and reintegrating victims of human trafficking to their home countries. This is something with which his Department can assist, and I hope that he can tell the House that he is now looking to ensure adequate in-country funding for source country NGOs accordingly.

Mr Duncan: My hon. and learned Friend makes a good point, and that is why we are assessing the practicality of giving support to NGOs that work in countries where we have no other Department for International Development presence, even though they may be based elsewhere. Our main focus is on tackling the practice of trafficking in the workers’ countries of origin, and we are currently designing a cross-Asian anti-trafficking programme, the purpose of which will be to equip vulnerable people with knowledge of their rights and the means to enforce them.

29 Jan 2013: Column WA313

Human Trafficking

Question Asked by Lord Patten

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of the number of Dalit women trafficked from India into Europe.[HL4903]

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Home Office (Lord Taylor of Holbeach): No assessment has been made. Data on human trafficking are collected by the UK Human Trafficking Centre. Data record the nationality of potential victims, but do not distinguish within nationalities. In 2012, there were nine potential female victims of Indian nationality referred to the national referral mechanism.

24 Jan 2013: Column 430W

Human Trafficking: Children

Lisa Nandy: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what her Department’s plans are to fulfil its obligations to appoint guardians to child victims of trafficking under Article 14(2) and Article 16(3) of the EU Directive on preventing and combating trafficking in human beings and protecting its victims. [138827]

Mr Harper: The Government believes the UK is already compliant with this measure in the directive. Local authorities have a statutory duty to ensure that they safeguard and promote the welfare of all children under section 11 of the Children Act 2004, regardless of their immigration status or nationality. In addition to a social worker and independent reviewing officer, a looked after child also has access to an independent advocate. Under these arrangements, looked after children are provided with access to all their needs be they in relation to education, accommodation, psychological or health needs.

24 Jan 2013: Column 437W

Human Trafficking

Jeremy Lefroy: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what projects targeting human trafficking her Department is supporting; in which countries; and what funding commitment her Department has made to each such project. [138697]

Mr Duncan: DFID is currently supporting a regional anti-trafficking project in South Asia, focusing on India, Bangladesh and Nepal. The funding commitment is £3 million for 2012-15. DFID also currently supports Anti-Slavery International’s global anti-trafficking project that has a funding commitment of £1,435,049 for 2008-13.

23 Jan 2013: Column 314W

Human Trafficking

Michael Connarty: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps he is taking to help victims of trafficking return to their countries of origin while providing them with reintegration support; and what funding his Department makes available to support this process. [138421]

Mr Swire: The British Government are committed to helping victims of trafficking who wish to return to their countries of origin. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) held a ministerial event in October 2012 to encourage foreign embassies, high commissions and consulates in London to expedite the process for securing travel documentation for their nationals who are victims of trafficking and wish to return home.

The FCO supports numerous projects overseas to provide reintegration of returning migrants, including the victims of trafficking, through several channels. The FCO; along with the UK Border Agency, Department for International Development and the Ministry of Justice, manage the returns and reintegration fund. This fund has been used, for example, for a project in Vietnam to help provide accommodation for female victims of trafficking.

In addition to this, some of our posts overseas use their bilateral programme budgets to help support local projects, such as a counter trafficking project in India, to support the reintegration of Indian victims of trafficking. The FCO has also pledged to support a joint EU-funded Victims of Trafficking programme coordinated by the International Organisation for Migration.

Michael Connarty: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs which organisations in which countries receive funding from his Department to support the integration and rehabilitation of victims of trafficking in their country of origin. [138423]

Mr Swire: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) has provided funding to the following organisations to facilitate the integration and rehabilitation of victims of trafficking:

The FCO has also provided funding to the following organisations to help reintegrate returning migrants, which may include victims of trafficking, but these programmes have a broader remit:

23 Jan 2013: Column 318W

Ukraine

Michael Connarty: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will visit Ukraine to discuss new initiatives to combat human trafficking. [138429]

Mr Lidington: Neither the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague), nor I have any immediate plans to visit Ukraine. I last visited in October 2010 when I met the Foreign Affairs Minister and the Vice Prime Minister.

The Government takes human trafficking very seriously and is committed to combating it, including by providing support to anti-trafficking organisations which routinely work to tackle this crime.

Ukraine is not one of the major source countries for trafficking victims to the UK. Five referrals of Ukrainian nationals were made to the National Referral Mechanism (NRM) between 1 April 2009 and June 2011, of which only three cases were later identified as having positive grounds to classify them as victims of trafficking. To date there have been no referrals of Ukrainian nationals to the NRM for 2012.

Her Majesty’s Government (HMG) will be working closely with the Ukrainian Government throughout its Chairmanship-in-Office of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) as Ukraine has highlighted combating human trafficking as a priority for its chairmanship. The UK will contribute actively to an international conference being organised by Ukraine on this subject as announced in Vienna by the Ukrainian Minister for Foreign Affairs

23 Jan 2013: Column 330W

Human Trafficking

Michael Connarty: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what plans he has to raise awareness in schools of the prevalence and effect of human trafficking within the UK. [138424]

Elizabeth Truss: Awareness of human trafficking can be covered by schools, should they wish to do so, as part of Personal, Social, Health and Economic (PSHE) education.

It is up to schools to decide what to cover in PSHE education, according to the needs of their pupils

22 January 2013, c194W

Human Trafficking

Michael Connarty: To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will review the system of placing child victims of trafficking in local authority care. [138422]

Mr Timpson: Lone migrant children, including those that may have been trafficked, come into care, and then receive the full range of support and care that all looked after children are entitled to. Local authorities must allocate each child a social worker to assess his or her needs and draw up a care plan which sets out how the authority intends to respond to the full range of the child’s needs. This includes ensuring they have the necessary legal and other support they need, including access to health, education and appropriate and safe accommodation, whether through a foster care arrangement, children’s home, or supported accommodation. They also have an Independent Reviewing Officer to oversee their care arrangements, as well as access to an advocate and an independent visitor.

Some local authorities are very effective in supporting these vulnerable young people, and others less so. We want all local authorities to come up to the standard of the best. The Government, with support from the Office of the Children’s Commissioner, has commissioned a piece of work to examine the practical care arrangements for looked after children who have or may have been trafficked. This will identify good practice as well as issues to be considered.

21 Jan 2013: Column 7

Children in Care

Andrew Selous (South West Bedfordshire) (Con): How many children went missing from local authority care in each of the last three years. [137904]

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Education (Mr Edward Timpson): The number of children reported to the Department as missing from care for more than 24 hours was 800 in 2010, 920 in 2011 and 1,490 in 2012. However, there are significant differences in data collected by the police and local authorities, which need to be addressed. The expert group on data has now made recommendations, and we will announce our actions shortly.

Andrew Selous: Those are large and significant numbers. Can we try to get to a situation in which at least child victims of trafficking are treated no worse than adult victims, as surely they deserve no less?

Mr Timpson: I completely agree with my hon. Friend’s analysis and about the importance of ensuring that all children, particularly those who have been trafficked who are probably the most vulnerable of all, have the protection they need within the care system. Our forthcoming revised statutory guidance on children who go missing from home or care will include specific advice on how to safeguard trafficked children. We are asking the Refugee Council together with the Children’s Society to carry out a review of the practical care arrangements for children in care who may have been trafficked, to identify the gaps in the system and to make sure that good practice is spread as widely as possible.

Ann Coffey (Stockport) (Lab): I thank the Minister for the very constructive meeting we had before Christmas. I am sure he is aware of concerns about the new police definitions of “missing” and “absent” and their impact on effective child protection. I am sure he would agree that the key to protecting children from child sexual exploitation is a sharing of all data about vulnerable children, including absence figures at the local level? Will he therefore ensure that any future guidance from his Department about children missing from care reinforces that?

Mr Timpson: I pay tribute to the hon. Lady not only for her chairmanship of the all-party parliamentary group for runaway and missing children and adults, but for her vital contribution to the work of the groups in the Department that have been looking into the issue. I hope that we can continue that dialogue in future.

It is crucial for us to improve data on missing and absent children at local level, in police forces and local authorities and more widely in other agencies, and we need to make that as effective as possible throughout the whole system. I look forward to discussing with the hon. Lady how we can do that better.

Mr Peter Bone (Wellingborough) (Con): As the Minister will readily acknowledge, the police think that far more children are going missing than local authorities record. What the Minister says about trafficked children is absolutely right, but until local authorities are forced to identify trafficked children, we cannot begin to deal with the problem. Will he instruct authorities in future to record the number of trafficked children whom they are looking after?

Mr Timpson: Part of the purpose of the working group that we set up following the report from the all-party parliamentary group and the accelerated report from the deputy Children’s Commissioner was to consider how we could better record the data on all children who have some contact with the care system, and that includes trafficked children. I will think carefully about what my hon. Friend has said in conjunction with that work, and I should be happy to discuss it with him further.

Lisa Nandy (Wigan) (Lab): It is said that one of the main reasons children go missing from care is a lack of time, love and attention from those who care for them.

21 Jan 2013: Column 8

However, the Government have presided over dramatic cuts in children’s services at a time when more children are entering the care system, along with—according to the former children’s Minister—a “downgrading” in the Department of issues involving children. Given that more than 50% of social workers are describing their case loads as unmanageable and 88% say that children’s lives may be put at risk by the cuts, can the Minister tell me who will be able to spare those children the time, love and attention that they need, keep them in the care system and keep them safe?

Mr Timpson: We must ensure that the child protection system that we have is as effective as possible. We are implementing the Munro reforms, which the hon. Lady’s party supports, both in relation to the statutory guidance on safeguarding and working together and in relation to better trained and higher quality social workers. We want protection to be in place for every child who needs it, but we must also provide the care that children require once they are in the care system. I want what the hon. Lady wants, which is the best possible care for all those children, and I hope she will join me in supporting Eileen Munro’s work so that we can ensure that it is provided.

21 Jan 2013: Column 6

Human Trafficking

Fiona Bruce (Congleton) (Con): What steps he is taking to raise awareness in schools of the dangers of human trafficking in the UK. [137903]

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Education (Elizabeth Truss): Human trafficking is a heinous crime, and I salute my hon. Friend’s work in raising awareness of this issue. Schools can ensure that pupils receive appropriate information on this important topic through personal, social, health and economic education.

Fiona Bruce: I thank the Minister for that reply. I commend the work undertaken among girls at Sandbach high school in my constituency, raising awareness that trafficking is happening right here in many UK towns and cities. What are the Government doing to make sure that school pupils recognise grooming, are aware of the dangers to which it can lead and know how to avoid becoming victims?

Elizabeth Truss: I, too, commend the work done by pupils and teachers at Sandbach high school, and I thank my hon. Friend for bringing it to my attention. I would be interested to hear more from her about how that school carries out best practice. She rightly highlights that PSHE plays a role in ensuring how pupils learn about, recognise and spot the signs of abuse and grooming, helping them to stay safe and to make informed choices.

Fiona Mactaggart (Slough) (Lab): Are not too many teachers anxious about raising such subjects in the classroom? We know of the real risks that young girls face—most brutally revealed at the Old Bailey last week by the cases of young children in Oxford? What can the Minister do to help teachers in the classroom to have the tools they need to protect these girls?

Elizabeth Truss: The hon. Lady is absolutely right that we need teachers to be aware of, and well trained in, these issues. I would like to learn from the case raised by my hon. Friend the Member for Congleton (Fiona Bruce) and to share it as best practice, so that we can ensure that those important issues are taught in our schools.

Keith Vaz (Leicester East) (Lab): One of the signs, of course, is children who go missing from school on a regular basis. In 2011, the Select Committee recommended that the Secretary of State should write to schools annually, reminding them of their responsibilities. Is that now happening?

Elizabeth Truss: I am not sure, but I will certainly undertake to get back to the right hon. Gentleman. He raises a very important point, and schools should be vigilant about it.

17 Jan 2013: Column 931W

Human Trafficking

Mr Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Congleton of 22 November 2012, Official Report, columns 857-8W, and to the hon. Member for South West Bedfordshire of 8 January 2013, Official Report, columns 243-4W, on human trafficking, in which local authority areas and districts the victims identified were found; and for what reason this information was not provided in response to the original questions. [137419]

Mrs Grant: The safety of identified victims is of the utmost importance and providing this level of information could result in them being rediscovered by their trafficker. It is for this reason that the region in which the victim was encountered was and will continue to be provided rather than the local authority area.

16 Jan 2013: Column 817W

Human Trafficking: Victim Support Schemes

Mr Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the (a) nationality and (b) gender was of each suspected victim of trafficking referred to the Trafficking Victim Support Scheme operated by the Salvation Army in December 2012; in which local authority area each of the suspected victims was found; and which agency referred each case to the scheme. [136890]

Mrs Grant: In December 2012, there were 40 referrals to the Government-funded support service for adult victims of human trafficking in England and Wales administered by The Salvation Army. In the interests of victim safety the region in which the victim was encountered is provided rather than the local authority. Details are provided in the following table:

16 Jan 2013 : Column 818W

8 Jan 2013: Column 157

Human Trafficking

Fiona Mactaggart (Slough) (Lab): How many prosecutions for human trafficking there have been in the most recent period for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement. [135618]

Andrew Selous (South West Bedfordshire) (Con): What steps he is taking to increase prosecutions for human trafficking. [135620]

The Solicitor-General (Oliver Heald): The Crown Prosecution Service charged and prosecuted 64 cases where human trafficking was the main offence between 1 April 2012 and 2 January this year, and has prosecuted other human trafficking cases using other legislation. The CPS is working with law enforcement and other agencies to improve investigation and prosecution and to encourage victims.

Fiona Mactaggart: Those figures sound a little better than the ones previously published that suggested to me that out of 25 European countries Britain had fewer prosecutions for human trafficking specifically than all bar Malta, Slovakia, Estonia and Finland. What effect does the Solicitor-General believe the relatively low level of prosecution for specific human trafficking offences has on the potential for future human traffickers?

The Solicitor-General: Of course, it is very important that we prosecute cases of this kind, but I make the point to the hon. Lady that the figures I read out and which are often quoted relate to cases where human trafficking was the main offence, but quite often with human trafficking, as she will know, the main offence is a violent assault or a rape, and it is the more serious offences that are flagged. In another 111 cases, in addition to the 64 I mentioned, human trafficking was one of the offences, but the main offence was a rape or major conspiracy.

Andrew Selous: There have been relatively few prosecutions for human trafficking involving forced labour, compared with, say, sexual exploitation, although there have been major successes in my own county of Bedfordshire and, just before Christmas, in Gloucestershire. These forced labour exploiters often earn enormous sums of money. What can we do to take some of that money to help the police fund these complex and difficult investigations?

The Solicitor-General: My hon. Friend will know of the Connors case, which was finally concluded yesterday —an appalling case involving vulnerable people being forced to work by the criminals concerned. It is important that we tackle these cases, but the main offence was introduced only in 2010 and related to events that occurred after that date, so we are very much at the early stage of bringing these cases to court. The Connors case is one of the first. An agreement has been reached with the Gangmasters Licensing Authority, however, to refer cases to the police, and other steps are being taken to toughen up on internal trafficking.

Mark Durkan (Foyle) (SDLP): Has the Solicitor-General had any indication of the number of cases where files were submitted and the decision was taken not to prosecute, or of the number of decisions that were based on concerns about the witness capacity of the victims?

The Solicitor-General: I will look into that and am happy to write to the hon. Gentleman, because I do not have the information here. The Crown Prosecution Service is anxious to prosecute in this area if the evidence is available. All too often it is difficult to obtain the quality of evidence from overseas that one would want in order to prosecute effectively. There is also the problem that victims need a great deal of support and encouragement. All these matters are being addressed, and I will write to the hon. Gentleman on his point.

Mr Peter Bone (Wellingborough) (Con): I welcome what the Government are doing in this field—they are being very proactive—but does the Solicitor-General share my concern that there is a temptation for the Crown Prosecution Service to choose lesser charges for which it is easier to secure a conviction, such as immigration offences, which results in traffickers getting a lower sentence than if they had been prosecuted for human trafficking?

The Solicitor-General: I would dispute that. As I mentioned to the hon. Member for Slough (Fiona Mactaggart), many human trafficking cases involve other offences, which are often more serious. With sexual exploitation cases, where there are continual rapes and serious offences of that sort, it is right to charge for rape as the principal offence because it is more serious in some ways. I therefore do not accept that the Crown Prosecution Service is going for lower charges. This is a matter that we in the Attorney-General’s office keep under review.

8 Jan 2013: Column 243W

Human Trafficking

Andrew Selous: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the (a) nationality and (b) gender was of each suspected victim of trafficking referred to the Trafficking Victim Support Scheme operated by the Salvation Army in November 2012; in which local authority area each of the suspected victims was initially found; and which agency referred each case to the scheme. [134088]

Mrs Grant: In November 2012, there were 58 referrals to the Government-funded support service for adult victims of human trafficking in England and Wales administered by the Salvation Army. Details are provided in the following table.

8 Jan 2013: Column 244W

7 Jan 2013: Column 113W

Human Trafficking

Andrew Griffiths: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many legal actions against her Department have been initiated to dispute negative conclusive grounds decisions reached through the

National Referral Mechanism in each year since its inception; and what the cost to the public purse of such actions has been in each such year. [130792]

Mr Harper: Judicial reviews of negative conclusive grounds decisions referred under the National Referral Mechanism can be broken down as follows:

Andrew Griffiths: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 31 October 2012, Official Report, columns 243-4W, on human trafficking, what the legal costs to the Government of the 17 decisions challenged at judicial review were. [130823]

Mr Harper: The Government’s legal costs to date for the 17 human trafficking National Referral Mechanism decisions challenged at judicial review between 1 April 2009 and 29 October 2012, has been £91,376.

This figure represents costs billed and therefore does not necessarily represent the total cost of the cases. It is provisional and subject to change.

7 Jan 2013: Column 113W

Human Trafficking Ministerial Group

Andrew Griffiths: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many Chairs the Inter-departmental Ministerial Group on Human Trafficking has had since it was first established; and who those chairs were. [135291]

Mr Harper: Two chairs, the Minister for Policing and Criminal Justice, my right hon. Friend the Member for Ashford (Damian Green), and myself.

7 Jan 2013: Column 156W

Crime: Victims

Fiona Mactaggart: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of local services for victims of violent crime; and if he will make a statement. [135582]

Mrs Grant: Last year, the Government carried out a consultation on how the criminal justice system could best deliver victims’ services, which recognised the importance of support for victims of violent crime.

In future, police and crime commissioners will commission the bulk of local victims’ services based on local need and priorities, and the Ministry of Justice will commission some services nationally, including for victims of rape and domestic and sexual violence, human trafficking, and for those bereaved by homicide.

The Government have made available long-term funding for specialist victim services, and have made clear our commitment to raise up to an additional £50 million from offenders to further support victims of crime.

7 Jan 2013: Column 160W

Human Trafficking: Victim Support Schemes

Mark Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice (1) how many victims of human trafficking have been referred by the Salvation Army to shelters throughout the UK for a reflection period in the last 12 months; [134845]

(2) how many of the victims of human trafficking who were referred through the National Referral Mechanism to the Salvation Army for a reflection period in the last 12 months were from (a) within and (b) outside the EU; [134846]

(3) how many of the victims of human trafficking who were referred through the National Referral Mechanism to the Salvation Army for a reflection period in the last 12 months were (a) male and (b) female. [134847]

Mrs Grant: The Salvation Army is responsible for delivering the Government-funded support service for adult victims of human trafficking in England and Wales. The specialist support programme overseas and co-ordinates access to confidential client-based, tailored support services, including access to secure accommodation if the victim requires it. Between 1 December 2011 and 30 November 2012 439 potential victims of human trafficking were referred through the National Referral Mechanism to The Salvation Army. 271 were female and 168 were male.

227 of those referred were from within the EU. 211 were from outside the EU. In addition, there was one victim whose country of origin could not be established.

348 victims were provided with accommodation. 191 were female and 157 male.

2012

18 Dec 2012: Column 679W

EU Law

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which EU directives her Department transposed in (a) 2011 and (b) 2012 to date; which EU directives her Department expects to transpose in (i) 2013 and (ii) the next two years; and what estimate she has made of the cost of each such directive to the (A) public purse and (B) private sector. [133705]

James Brokenshire: The Home Office did not transpose any EU directives in (a) 2011 and (b) 2012.

The Home Office expects to transpose the following EU directives in (i) 2013:

Directive 2010/63/EU on the protection of animals used for scientific purposes;

Directive 2011/36/EU on preventing and combating trafficking in human beings and protecting its victims, and replacing Council Framework Decision 2002/629/JHA;

and (ii) the next two years:

There are a number of directives currently under negotiation or which have yet to be adopted, including the European investigation order and the directive on attacks against information systems. It is possible that the Home Office will transpose these directives in the next two years, but it is not possible to say until they have been adopted.

Details of projected costs arising from the transposition of the directive on the protection of animals for scientific purposes can be found in the impact assessment:

http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/publications/about-us/consultations/transposition-protection-animals/protection-animals-scientific-ia?view=Binary

The accompanying Explanatory Memorandum to the human trafficking directive states that the estimated cost of implementing the directive in the UK is £810,000 per year

18 Dec 2012: Column 680W

Human Trafficking

Mr Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether the UK Border Agency targets specific flights as part of its strategy to tackle human trafficking. [128544]

Mr Harper: Combating human trafficking is a high priority for Border Force. As part of its wider strategy to combat organised crime, Border Force targeting teams use a variety of automated and manual systems in order to select a person for examination at the border. Through eBorders, Border Force have the ability to track around 55% of inbound and 60% of outbound passenger and crew movements; equating to approximately 138 million passenger movements a year on over 4,200 routes, including all aviation routes starting outside the EEA.

In addition to this tracking ability, Border Force relies on intelligence and profiles that are up-to-date in order to identify those movements worthy of further attention.

Analysis of this data and intelligence provides Border Force the ability to try to identify and target in advance those people known to pose a threat, including human traffickers.

18 Dec 2012 : Column 762W

Human Trafficking

Andrew Selous: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many victims of trafficking referred to the Trafficking Victim Support Scheme operated by the Salvation Army in the last 12 months failed to receive a conclusive grounds decision; and if he will make a statement. [134089]

Mrs Grant: Information produced by the UK Human Trafficking Centre indicates that there were 17 negative Conclusive Grounds decisions in the period October 2011 to October 2012 on victims who have been referred to the Government-funded support service for adult victims of human trafficking in England and Wales administered by The Salvation Army.

17 Dec 2012: Column 497W

Human Trafficking

Jonathan Reynolds: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police forces in England and Wales have appointed a single point of contact for human trafficking cases. [129076]

Mr Harper: The Association of Chief Police Officers have identified single points of contact for each police region in England and Wales and is seeking to appoint single points of contact in each force area. To date, 34 forces have appointed a single point of contact for human trafficking cases.

17 Dec 2012: Column 553W

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport which regulations her Department introduced as a result of EU legislation in (a) 2011 and (b) 2012 to date; which regulations her Department expects to implement as a result of EU legislation in (i) 2013 and (ii) the next two years; and what estimate she has made of the cost of each such regulation to the (A) public purse and (B) private sector. [133696]

Hugh Robertson: The information requested is as follows.

(a) Regulations introduced by DCMS as a result of EU legislation in 2011:

Electronic Communications and Wireless Telegraphy Regulations 2011 (SI 2011/1210); Communications Act 2003 (Maximum Penalty for Contravention of Information Requirements) Order 2011 (SI 2011/1773); Privacy and Electronic Communications (EC Directive) (Amendment) Regulations 2011 (SI 2011/1208); Electronic Communications (Universal Service) (Amendment) Order 2011 (SI 2011/1209).

(b) None.

(i) Regulations to be introduced by DCMS as a result of EU legislation in 2013:

It is anticipated that regulations will be made to implement the EU Mobile Roaming Regulation (Regulation (EU) No 531/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 June 2012 on roaming on public mobile communications networks within the Union).

(ii) Regulations to be introduced by DCMS as a result of EU legislation in the next two years:

It is anticipated that regulations will be made to implement the E-Commerce Directive (Directive 2000/31/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 8 June 2000 on certain legal aspects of information society services, in particular electronic commerce, in the Internal Market), in relation to offences relating to extreme pornography and threatening communications in Scotland, and various human trafficking offences across the UK.

The Department does not record centrally the cost of implementing each such regulation, and to compile this data would incur disproportionate cost

In order to increase transparency, in the forthcoming Statement of New Regulation (SNR5) the Government will, for the first time, be publishing those new European Union (EU) measures which are being implemented in UK law and have a direct effect on business.

10 Dec 2012: Column 9W

Human Trafficking: Females

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what agreements are in place to ensure effective working between the Scottish police service and police forces in England to identify women who have been trafficked into the UK. [131936]

Mr Harper: The Scottish police and police forces in England work collaboratively with a range of organisations to reduce the threat of human trafficking, including: exchanging data and intelligence to support investigations, identifying and supporting victims, targeting traffickers, and sharing best practice.

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent discussions she has had with the Scottish Government on the number of women trafficked into the UK from (a) elsewhere in the EU and (b) other countries. [131937]

Mr Harper: The Inter-Departmental Ministerial Group on Human Trafficking, attended by Kenny MacAskill, the Scottish Justice Secretary, routinely discusses trends in trafficking activity into the UK. The UK approach to tackling human trafficking was also discussed by delegates at the human trafficking summit held in Edinburgh on Anti-Slavery Day, 18 October 2012.

6 Dec 2012: Column 835W

Confiscation Orders: Human Trafficking

Michael Connarty: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much her Department has received from the confiscation of assets of convicted human traffickers in each of the last two years. [131838]

Mr Jeremy Browne: The value of confiscation orders enforced against those convicted for human trafficking offences in England and Wales in each of the last two years, as recorded on the Joint Asset Recovery Database, is as follows:

5 Dec 2012: Column 795W

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what safeguards she has put in place to prevent victims of torture and other vulnerable applicants from being assigned to the detained fast track process. [131057]

Mr Harper: Published policy has specific “suitability exclusion criteria” to prevent entry into the detained fast track process of those accepted as being particularly vulnerable, including victims of torture. Suitability for the process is reviewed throughout an individual’s detention, not just at the point of prospective entry. If at any stage it is clear that the suitability exclusion criteria are engaged, the detainee would be released from the detained fast track process. Criteria includes:

Women who are 24 or more weeks pregnant;

Family cases;

Children (whether applicants or dependants), whose claimed date of birth is accepted by the UK Border Agency;

Those with a disability which cannot be adequately managed within a detained environment;

Those with a physical or mental medical condition which cannot be adequately treated within a detained environment, or which for practical reasons,  including infectiousness or contagiousness, cannot be properly managed within a detained environment;

Those who clearly lack the mental capacity or coherence to sufficiently understand the asylum process and/or cogently present their claim. This consideration will usually be based on medical information, but where medical information is unavailable, officers must apply their judgement as to an individual’s apparent capacity;

Those for whom there has been a reasonable grounds decision taken (and maintained) by a competent authority stating that the applicant is a potential victim of trafficking or where there has been a conclusive decision taken by a competent authority stating that the applicant is a victim of trafficking;

Those in respect of whom there is independent evidence of torture.

5 Dec 2012: Column 808W

Mr Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what assessment he has made of the potential effect of planned changes to legal aid from April 2013 on local authorities’ ability to meet their statutory obligations to look after children and care leavers with immigration claims. [131138]

Jeremy Wright: We do not anticipate that the changes to legal aid from 2013 will impact significantly on local authorities’ ability to look after children and care leavers with immigration claims. Unaccompanied migrant children become part of the care system and as such are entitled to the full range of support and services as all looked after children. Post age 18, subject to their immigration status, many will be treated as care leavers and will continue to be entitled to a range of support from local authorities.

Legal aid will remain available for asylum cases, which will account for the vast majority of cases brought by unaccompanied children. Victims of trafficking, including children, will also be able to get funding for legal advice in relation to immigration or damages claims.

4 Dec 2012: Column 693W

Human Trafficking: Repatriation

Mr Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what information her Department holds on how many victims of human trafficking have been returned to their home countries by Refugee Action, by country, since April 2011; and what funding is available from her Department to help with the reintegration of such victims into their home countries. [130397]

Mr Harper: Data on the number of persons identified as victims of human trafficking who have been returned to their home country by Refugee Action is not collated centrally. The information could only be provided by examination of individual records at disproportionate cost.

The Home Office publishes immigration statistics annually and quarterly, which are available from the Home Office Research and Statistics website. This includes information on assisted voluntary returns by nationality. The latest statistics can be found in the Library of the House as well as on the following website:

http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/publications/science-research-statistics/research-statistics/immigration-asylum-research/immigration-q2-2012/

Refugee Action administers, on behalf of the UK Border Agency, an Assisted Voluntary Return (AVR) scheme which if certain criteria is met can be provided to victims of human trafficking. AVR refers to programmes that are available to those who do not have a permanent right to remain in the UK and wish to return permanently to their country of origin (or, where permanently admissible, to a third country). There are three AVR programmes each offering slightly different levels of reintegration support.

1. The Assisted Voluntary Return of Illegal Migrants (AVRIM) programme, designed for individuals who have not made an application for asylum.

2. The Voluntary Assisted Return and Reintegration programme (VARRP), for those who have made an asylum application.

3. The Assisted Voluntary Return for Families and Children programme (AVRFC) for families and children regardless of whether they are asylum or non-asylum cases.

Full details on eligibility and the levels of support are available from the UKBA website at:

http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/aboutus/workingwithus/workingwithasylum/assistedvoluntaryreturn/

30 Nov 2012: Column 551W

Human Trafficking: Females

Mrs Laing: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will set up an inquiry into the number of women working in nightclubs who have been trafficked into the UK from within the EU and from other parts of the world. [130381]

Mr Harper: The UK Human Trafficking Centre has not identified this as an area of greater trafficking concern than other high profile areas and there are no plans for an inquiry.

30 Nov 2012: Column 551W

Human Trafficking

Mrs Laing: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what members of the Inter-Departmental Ministerial Group on Human Trafficking did to raise awareness of human trafficking on or around Anti-Slavery Day. [130380]

Mr Harper: Members of the Inter-Department Ministerial Group on Human Trafficking (IDMG) participated in a range of events on or around Anti-Slavery Day including:

visiting a support provider; meeting with a trafficking victim; visiting a local school; holding a seminar with a university group; witnessing frontline border operations; attending the Women Against Violence Europe Conference; hosting an event for foreign embassy staff at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office to engage with them on victim support issues; and participating in a human trafficking summit organised by the Scottish Government. I met with NGO staff involved in the GIFTbox project and spoke to the BBC as well as chairing a round table event for the private sector, to raise awareness in the hotel industry

The first report of the IDMG was also published on Anti-Slavery Day.

30 Nov 2012: Column 574W

Gangmasters

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (1) how many cases the Gangmasters Licensing Authority has brought to the Crown Prosecution Service for prosecution of people for being unlicensed gangmasters in each of the last three years; [130700]

(2) how many prosecutions there have been for people being unlicensed gangmasters in each of the last three years; [130701]

(3) what the (a) shortest and (b) longest sentence received for being an unlicensed gangmaster is; [130702]

(4) what the average sentence is handed down to a person who has been prosecuted for being an unlicensed gangmaster. [130703]

Mr Heath: Figures on the number of prosecutions and convictions are set out in the following table:

Sentences:

The courts have not yet handed down a custodial sentence. Sentences have included absolute discharge (3), fines, community service and probation orders, suspended sentences and the awarding of prosecution costs. It is not possible to arrive at an average sentence but the range of sentences across the nations of the UK is illustrated below:

England and Wales: Fines between £300 and £5,000; Costs between £300 and £10,900; Community service orders between 140 and 200 hours; Disqualifications from holding directorship of two years and five years

Scotland: Procurator Fiscal’s Warning as alternative to trial; Fines between £200 and £2,500; Community service orders of 200 hours with 18-month probation

Northern Ireland: Sentences ranging from absolute discharge to £750 fine plus costs; two cases awaiting sentence

There have been additional, Police-led, investigations involving GLA offences. In some instances GLA offences have been set aside in favour of human trafficking charges.

29 Nov 2012: Column 455W

Human Trafficking Ministerial Group

Michael Connarty: To ask the Leader of the House what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for the Home Department on plans for scrutiny of the Inter-Departmental Ministerial Group on Human Trafficking’s first annual report. [130616]

Mr Lansley: I have had no direct discussions on this subject.

However, I would like to reiterate what the Immigration Minister and chair of the Inter-Departmental Ministerial Group, my hon. Friend the Member for Forest of Dean (Mr Harper), said:

“Human trafficking is abhorrent and the UK Government is committed to combating this crime in all its forms”.

27 Nov 2012: Column 186W

Prostitution

Gavin Shuker: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate she has made of the proportion of men and women who have been trafficked into the UK who are subsequently sexually exploited; and if she will make a statement. [128235]

Mr Harper: The UK Human Trafficking Centre (UKHTC) is responsible for collating data on potential human trafficking victims. In its 2011 baseline assessment, the UKHTC estimated that there were 2,077 potential victims of human trafficking. This includes 946 victims who were formally referred to the UKHTC for support through the UK’s National Referral Mechanism. Of the 2,077 potential victims, 54% were female and 40% were male. The gender of 6% of victims was unknown.

639 potential victims (31%) were sexually exploited, of which 92% were female, 6% were male and 2% were unknown. 71% of the 639 potential victims were adults, 23% were children and in 6% of cases the age of the victim was unknown.

A breakdown of referrals by gender and exploitation type can be found at:http://www.soca.gov.uk/about-soca/about-the-ukhtc/national-referral-mechanism/statistics

22 Nov 2012: Column 587W

Human Trafficking: Assistance to victims

Fiona Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the (a) nationality and (b) gender was of each suspected victim of trafficking referred to the Trafficking Victim Support scheme operated by the Salvation Army in October 2012; in which (i) region and (ii) local authority area each of the suspected victims was found; and which agency referred each case to the scheme. [129368]

Mrs Grant: In October 2012 there were 77 referrals to the Government-funded support service for adult victims of human trafficking in England and Wales administered by the Salvation Army. Details are provided as follows.

22 Nov 2012 : Column 588W

21 Nov 2012: Column 518W

Human Trafficking

Mr Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether the UK Border Agency has considered making data available on the number of known or suspected cases of human trafficking identified at UK borders. [128543]

Mr Harper: The Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA) holds responsibility for the central UK wide retention and collation of information in relation to trafficking and it currently makes some data available publicly.

Potential victims of trafficking are referred to the National Referral Mechanism (NRM), which is the UK’s multi-agency framework to help to identify and support victims. A breakdown of UK Border Agency (UKBA) and Border Force referrals is published on the SOCA website. This currently cannot be split between UKBA and Border Force.

Mr Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proportion of frontline UK Border Agency staff are trained to identify suspected cases of human trafficking. [128545]

Mr Harper: Two e-learning human trafficking training packages have been developed for UK Border Agency and Border Force staff. Both of these are mandatory for all frontline officers and help staff identify those who might have been trafficked and understand the steps that should be taken to safeguard possible victims.

Mr Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment she has made of the role of the e-Borders programme in tackling human trafficking. [128546]

Mr Harper: The e-Borders programme is a fully operational system which is currently tracking around 55% of inbound and 60% of outbound passenger and crew movements; this equates to approximately 138 million passenger movements a year on over 4,200 routes, including all aviation routes starting outside the EEA.

The e-Borders programme is enabling us to collect travel data from carriers about passengers intending to travel to or from the UK. Analysis of the data enables us to identify and target in advance those people known to pose a threat, including human traffickers.

20 Nov 2012: Column 446W

Children: Human Trafficking

Robert Flello: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what recent discussions he has had with the Children’s Improvement Board on creating a programme of work to support local authorities to meet the needs of trafficked children through child protection frameworks. [127942]

Mr Timpson: The Department has had discussions with the Children’s Improvement Board about support for local authorities to meet the needs of trafficked children, particularly in relation to child sexual exploitation, as part of wider discussions with the CIB about its annual programme of work.

19 Nov 2012: Column 306

Gangmasters Licensing Authority

Michael Connarty (Linlithgow and East Falkirk) (Lab): What discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on the effectiveness of the Gangmasters Licensing Authority in tackling trafficked labour. [128827]

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department (James Brokenshire): The Gangmasters Licensing Authority plays a key role in protecting workers who may be exploited in the agriculture, shellfish, and food processing and packaging industries. A recent Government review streamlined its remit to focus on suspected serious and organised crime, working more closely with the Serious Organised Crime Agency and other specialist law enforcement agencies.

Michael Connarty: I thank the Minister for that endorsement of the work of the Gangmasters Licensing Authority, particularly given the recent evidence of the Noble/Freedom Food eggs scandal, which was described as the worst case of human trafficking the Gangmasters Licensing Authority had ever seen. However, would it not be better if the Government took on the principles contained in my Transparency in UK Company Supply Chains (Eradication of Slavery) Bill so that companies ordering those goods have a responsibility to trace right back to the source what is happening in the supply chain and we stop that kind of abuse of workers who come here to pick and work in our farms?

James Brokenshire: I certainly recognise the serious nature of the crimes the hon. Gentleman highlights and am sure that he will welcome a number of the joint operations with the Serious Organised Crime Agency—in a recent case, 30 Lithuanians were freed as a consequence. I hope that he will also welcome the work of colleagues in the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills who have recently put out for public consultation legislation on the human rights reporting requirements of quoted companies, which we believe will go a long way towards addressing the concerns highlighted in his Bill.

Mr Peter Bone (Wellingborough) (Con): In human trafficking, far more people are exploited for labour than for sex, and the Minister is right to concentrate on organised gangs. Will he expand a little on how the Government will target organised gangs?

James Brokenshire: I know that my hon. Friend has a long-standing commitment to and interest in this important issue. I highlight the creation of the new National Crime Agency with an attached border command, which will harness greater intelligence. The national human trafficking centre will form part of that and will, we believe, really strengthen the approach in combating that appalling crime.

19 Nov 2012 : Column 243W

Arrest Warrants: Extradition

Martin Horwood: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people have been extradited to the UK under a European arrest warrant for offences concerning (a) human trafficking, (b) child sex offences, (c) murder, (d) rape, (e) fraud, (f) grievous bodily harm, (g) robbery, (h) theft, (i) drug smuggling, (j) money laundering and (k) other offences to date; and if she will make a statement. [128830]

Mr Harper: It is not possible to break down by offence type the number of people who have been extradited to the UK under a European arrest warrant prior to 2009 due to the way data was recorded by the Serious Organised Crime Agency before this date. However, since April 2009 the figures are as follows:

9 Nov 2012: Column 826W

Victim Support Scheme

Charlotte Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what assessment he has made of the financial and emotional support available to victims of crime; and if he will make a statement. [127120]

Mrs Grant: The Government is committed to providing the best possible support for victims of crime both to overcome the consequences of crime and to participate fully in the criminal justice process.

Compensation is available to victims of violent crime through the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme. This is a demand-led scheme which costs the Government over £200 million each year. A revised scheme is currently being considered by Parliament.

The voluntary sector plays a key role in the provision of emotional support for victims and witnesses of crime. Annual funding by central Government to the voluntary sector for victims’ services currently stands at around £66 million. Victim Support has been awarded core funding of around £38 million a year since 2007-08. Funding is also distributed to support a range of specialist services including rape support centres, services for adult victims of human trafficking and homicide support.

On 2 July the Government announced in its response to the consultation ‘Getting it Right for Victims and Witnesses’ that it would move to a model of national and local commissioning with police and crime commissioners (PCCs) responsible for commissioning the bulk of victims’ services in their local area

9 Nov 2012: Column 826W

Victim Support Schemes

Charlotte Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what assessment he has made of the financial and emotional support available to victims of crime; and if he will make a statement. [127120]

Mrs Grant: The Government is committed to providing the best possible support for victims of crime both to overcome the consequences of crime and to participate fully in the criminal justice process.

Compensation is available to victims of violent crime through the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme. This is a demand-led scheme which costs the Government over £200 million each year. A revised scheme is currently being considered by Parliament.

The voluntary sector plays a key role in the provision of emotional support for victims and witnesses of crime. Annual funding by central Government to the voluntary sector for victims’ services currently stands at around £66 million. Victim Support has been awarded core funding of around £38 million a year since 2007-08. Funding is also distributed to support a range of specialist services including rape support centres, services for adult victims of human trafficking and homicide support.

On 2 July the Government announced in its response to the consultation ‘Getting it Right for Victims and Witnesses’ that it would move to a model of national and local commissioning with police and crime commissioners (PCCs) responsible for commissioning the bulk of victims’ services in their local area.

5 Nov 2012: Column WA178

Human Trafficking – International Cooperation

Questions Asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool

To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many women and girls have been prevented from being trafficked as a result of the Department for International Development’s Human Trafficking in South Asia Programme; and what percentage were Dalits or Adivasis.[HL2884]

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what priority was given to protecting Dalits and Adivasis in the pilot phase of the Department for International Development’s Human Trafficking in South Asia Programme.[HL2885]

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what measures will be put in place to ensure that priority is given to preventing the human trafficking of Dalits and Adivasis in the implementation phase of the Department for International Development’s Human Trafficking in South Asia Programme.[HL2886]

Baroness Northover: The Department for International Development (DfID) is currently designing a programme to reduce the trafficking of women and girls in South Asia. Evidence from the pilot phase suggests that those most at risk of trafficking are from the poorest and most excluded groups, including Dalits and Adivasis.

DfID is strongly committed to reaching the poorest and most marginalised groups through our programmes in South Asia, and this includes Dalits and Adivasis. In India, for example, we are helping 240,000 dalit and tribal girls to attend and complete secondary school.

2 Nov 2012: Column 423W

Human Trafficking: Assistance to victims

Margot James: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the (a) nationality and (b) gender was of each suspected victim of trafficking referred to the Trafficking Victim Support Scheme operated by the Salvation Army in August 2012; in which region each of the suspected victims was found; and which agency referred each case to the scheme. [125973]

Mrs Grant: In August 2012 there were 51 referrals to the Government-funded support service for adult victims of human trafficking in England and Wales administered by the Salvation Army. Details are provided in the following table:

2 Nov 2012 : Column 424W

Justin Tomlinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the (a) nationality and (b) gender was of each suspected victim of trafficking referred to the Trafficking Victim Support Scheme operated by the Salvation Army in July 2012; in which region each of the suspected victims was found; and which agency referred each case to the scheme. [126129]

Mrs Grant: In July 2012 there were 50 referrals to the Government-funded support service for adult victims of human trafficking in England and Wales administered by the Salvation Army. Details are provided as follows:

2 Nov 2012 : Column 425W

31 Oct 2012 : Column 243W

Human Trafficking – National Referral Mechanism

Andrew Griffiths: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many decisions on trafficking made under the National Referral Mechanism by (a) the UK Border Agency Competent Authority and (b) the UK Human Trafficking Centre Competent Authority have been taken to Judicial Review in each year since April 2009; and how many such reviews have resulted in a decision being reversed. [125960]

Mr Harper: The information requested is as follows:

(a) The Judicial Review of UK Border Agency Competent Authority decisions under the National Referral Mechanism can be broken down as follows:

(b) There have been no Judicial Reviews of UK Human Trafficking Centre Competent Authority decisions under the National Referral Mechanism.

This data is based on regionally held management information and as such has not been quality assured as part of the production of National Statistics outputs. It is provisional and subject to change.

31 Oct 2012: Column 268W

Human Trafficking – Government strategy

Mr Bone: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps his Department is taking to tackle human trafficking. [125374]

Mr Swire: As set out in the reply to my hon. Friend on 19 June 2012, Official Report, column 907W, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) network provides a platform for departments including the Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA), Department for International Development (DFID) and the UK Border Agency (UKBA) to implement the Government’s human trafficking strategy overseas.

The strategy includes working with foreign governments to address the conditions in which trafficking can thrive; expediting the safe and rapid return of victims to their own countries; and supporting work in source countries to prevent retrafficking. FCO Posts also work with local non-governmental organisations to raise awareness among vulnerable groups; and support the work of UKBA and law enforcement agencies to share intelligence, disrupt networks, identify victims and prosecute traffickers.

The FCO continues to raise the profile of trafficking in the UK including a speech by the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague), on 16 October at the opening of the parliamentarians against human trafficking London conference on 24 October the FCO and Home Office hosted a major event on tackling human trafficking for parliamentarians, diplomats, non-governmental organisations and charities at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

31 Oct 2012: Column 279W

Written (Women and Equalities) – Assistance to victims

Mrs Ellman: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the (a) nationality and (b) gender was of each suspected victim of trafficking referred to the Trafficking Victim Support Scheme operated by the Salvation Army in September 2012; in which region each of the suspected victims was found; and which agency referred each case to the scheme. [125844]

Mrs Grant: In September 2012 there were 50 referrals to the Government-funded support service for adult victims of human trafficking in England and Wales administered by The Salvation Army. Details are provided in the following table:

31 Oct 2012 : Column 280W

25 Oct 2012: Column 993W

Anti-slavery Day

Mr Bone: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities what steps the Government is taking to promote anti-slavery day. [123680]

Mr Harper: I have been asked to reply on behalf of the Home Department.

Ministers from the Inter-Departmental Ministerial Group on human trafficking, including myself, undertook a range of activities to raise awareness of this important issue.

24 Oct 2012: Column 901W

Human Trafficking

Mr Bone: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what arrangements she has put in place for the views of the Northern Ireland Executive on human trafficking to be considered by her Department. [124226]

Mrs Villiers: Matters relating to human trafficking in Northern Ireland are devolved. The Northern Ireland Justice Minister, David Ford MLA, leads on this issue there. I understand that Mr Ford sits on the Inter-Departmental Ministerial Group for Human Trafficking chaired by the Minister for Immigration, my hon. Friend the Member for Forest of Dean (Mr Harper). I understand the Minister of Justice recently announced the establishment of an Engagement Group to enable an exchange on this issue between his Department, relevant agencies and the NGO sector

Oral (Prime Minister)

24 Oct 2012: Column 922

Q14. [124352] Michael Connarty (Linlithgow and East Falkirk) (Lab): Does the Prime Minister recall telling the House last year that the UK would lead the world in eradicating modern-day slavery? Could he explain to the House why his Whips organised, last Friday, to talk out my Bill that would eradicate that problem in the supply chains of British companies? Will he meet me and the people who support the Bill so that we can move this campaign forward?

The Prime Minister: This Government have an excellent record in combating modern-day slavery, not least because we continue to commit, through our international aid programme, to tackle those countries where it still, so regrettably, exists. I will look very carefully at the Bill that the hon. Gentleman mentions and perhaps write to him about the issue.

22 Oct 2012: Column 704

Martin Horwood (Cheltenham) (LD): Since the Government have raised the possibility of opting out of the European arrest warrant, which is vital for tackling human trafficking, organised crime and terrorism, did any of our European partners at the summit express the worry that Euroscepticism might make the UK go soft on crime?

The Prime Minister: No one mentioned that to me, no.

Mr Dennis Skinner (Bolsover) (Lab): Has the Prime Minister not realised yet why those others in Europe do not take very much notice of what he has to say? Does he not realise that they work it out that this Prime Minister is being constantly undermined by the antics of his Chancellor of the Exchequer, the ex-Chief Whip, Boris Johnson—it goes on for ever? This heir to Blair has suddenly become like John Major all over again.

22 Oct 2012: Column 645W

Human Trafficking

Mr Bone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the value of funds confiscated from prosecuted traffickers was in each of the last three years; and what proportion of such funds was awarded to victims as compensation. [122784]

Mr Jeremy Browne [holding answer 17 October 2012]: The value of confiscation orders enforced against those convicted for human trafficking offences in England and Wales in each of the last three years, as recorded on the Joint Asset Recovery Database, is as follows:

It should be noted, however, that a human trafficker may also be charged and prosecuted for a different offence, such as prostitution or money laundering, which could incur a confiscation order.

The proportion of such funds awarded to victims as compensation is not recorded centrally.

22 Oct 2012: Column 746W

Lindsay Roy: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he has received on levels of human trafficking in Somalia; and what discussions he has had with his Somali counterpart on human trafficking. [124282]

Mark Simmonds: We take human trafficking very seriously and recognise that it is a prevalent problem in the horn of Africa. We are committed to tackling human trafficking both on a national and global scale and supporting the work being carried out by the International Organisation for Migration and other organisations in the region to help tackle this crime. The UK is working closely with Somali, African Union and international partners to ensure the protection of human rights throughout Somalia, including by developing the government’s capacity to tackle human rights issues such as human trafficking. This is in line with the aims of our Human Trafficking Strategy.

19 Oct 2012: Column 429W

Anti-slavery Day

Mr Bone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps she is taking to promote anti-slavery day. [123675]

Mr Harper: 10 members of the Inter-Departmental Ministerial Group on Human Trafficking, including myself, are undertaking a range of activities on or around anti-slavery day to raise awareness of this important issue.

Written (Home Office)

17 Oct 2012: Column 279W

Anti-slavery Day

 Mr Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans she has to mark Anti-Slavery Day on 18 October 2012. [121509]

Mr Harper: Ten members of the Inter-Departmental Ministerial Group on Human Trafficking, including myself, are undertaking a range of activities, on or around Anti-Slavery Day, to raise awareness of this important issue.

Written (Scotland)

 17 Oct 2012: Column 313W

 Anti-slavery Day

Anas Sarwar: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what plans he has to mark Anti-Slavery Day on 18 October 2012. [122627]

David Mundell: The Scotland Office is fully engaged in the UK Government’s commitment to marking Anti-Slavery Day. I will be visiting Edinburgh airport to discuss with UK Border Force staff and their partner organisations, strategies to combat human trafficking and arrangements to deal with victims. My ministerial colleague, the Lord Wallace of Tankerness QC, Advocate-General for Scotland, is representing the UK Government at the Scottish Government’s summit on human trafficking in Edinburgh

Excerpts from debate on Home Secretary’s statement on EU JHA powers – 15 Oct 2012

15 Oct 2012 : Column 36

Martin Horwood (Cheltenham) (LD): The Home Secretary must welcome Gloucestershire constabulary’s success last year in breaking a major human trafficking ring, working with other European police forces and returning a suspect for trial here in the UK. Does she agree that only by using practical tools such as the European arrest warrant used in that case can we really tackle the evil of this modern slavery?

Mrs May: It is absolutely right that there are criminal offences where we want to be able to extradite people—to bring people back from other countries to face trial and justice here in the United Kingdom. We need to ensure that the arrangements that enable us to do that are the best possible and are proportionate. Proportionality is one of the issues that have been raised as regards relations with Europe. As I say, we will look at every individual measure separately when choosing whether to request to opt

15 Oct 2012 : Column 44

 Mr Peter Bone (Wellingborough) (Con): What a star we have in the Home Secretary—terrorists are sent home, powers are brought back from Europe and Parliament is given a year’s notice on something. What more can she do? Will she consider the views of the all-party group on human trafficking, which recognises that most of the successful operations against traffickers have been bilateral and not undertaken through the European regulation? Will she bear that in mind?

 Mrs May: I shall certainly bear that in mind, particularly given my hon. Friend’s work against human trafficking. It would be wrong to assume that there is only one way of doing things—we can co-operate in a variety of ways to ensure that we get the best results in the national interest.

Written (Home Office)

15 Oct 2012 : Column 90W

Anti-Slavery Day

Mr MacShane: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans she has to commemorate Anti-Slavery Day 2012. [122224]

 Mr Harper: 10 members of the Inter-Department Ministerial Group on Human Trafficking are undertaking a range of activities, on or around Anti-Slavery Day, to commemorate this important occasion.

Lords Written (Home Office)

 24 Sep 2012: Column WA202

Human Trafficking and Servitude

Question

Asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the abolition of the Overseas Domestic Workers Visa on the problems of servitude and human trafficking.[HL1761]

The Minister of State, Home Office (Lord Henley): The Overseas Domestic Worker (ODW) visa has not been abolished. Following a consultation last year on options for reforming the ODW routes, including closing the private household route, the Government introduced reforms in April. These restore the original purpose of the ODW routes, to allow visitors and diplomats to be accompanied by their domestic staff rather than provide permanent access to the UK for unskilled workers. The reforms recognise that the ODW routes can result in the import of abusive employer/employee relationships to the UK. They address the risk by ensuring those entering the UK through the private household route do so only for a short time and to accompany an employer with whom they have a pre-existing relationship.

The Government consider that these reforms will help reduce the risk of the ODW routes being used to traffic workers into slavery and servitude. In addition, the UK’s protections for victims of trafficking and slavery remain available to those using the ODW routes.

24 Sep 2012: Column WA263

Human Trafficking – Wales

Question

Asked by Lord McColl of Dulwich

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the Welsh Government’s anti-human trafficking co-ordinator established in April 2011; and whether they are considering making a similar appointment in England.[HL1962]

The Minister of State, Home Office (Lord Henley): An assessment of the work of the Welsh Government’s anti-human trafficking co-ordinator will be made as part of the first report of the Inter-Departmental Ministerial Group (IDMG) on Human Trafficking, due to be published in October 2012. A national anti-human trafficking co-ordinator will not be appointed in England. The IDMG co-ordinates work on trafficking across the UK and performs the national rapporteur function in compliance with the EU directive on trafficking in human beings.

Written (Home Office)

 18 Sep 2012: Column 569W

Human Trafficking: Children

 Ann Coffey: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many referrals were made from UK Border Agency caseworkers to the National Referral Mechanism for potential child victims of trafficking in each of the last five years. [121022]

Mr Harper: The National Referral Mechanism (NRM), which is the UK’s multi-agency framework to help identify and support victims, started operating on 1 April 2009. A breakdown of minors referred by the UK Border Agency (UKBA) since April 2009 can be found in the following table. Comparable estimates are not available prior to this date.

17 Sep 2012: Column 504W

Human Trafficking: Children

 David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent estimate she has made of the number of trafficked children in the UK. [120277]

Mr Harper: Estimating the number of children trafficked into and within the UK is difficult owing to the hidden nature of this criminal activity. However data from successive reports by the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (CEOP) suggests there are approximately 300 child trafficking victims in the UK per annum (based on CEOP’s Strategic Threat Assessment of Child Trafficking 2009 and 2010). In addition, CEOP’s most recent Child Trafficking Update published in 2011 suggests there were 202 children identified as trafficked into and within the UK over the eight and a half month period from 1 January 2011 to 15 September 2011.

Copies of the above publications are available in the House Library.

Written (Home Office)

 17 Sep 2012: Column 504W

Human Trafficking: National Cooperation

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which countries are the main sources of people being trafficked illegally into the UK; and what contact she has had with the governments of these countries to discuss steps to end the trade. [120447]

Mr Harper: While we recognise the difficulties inherent in detecting human trafficking, data recorded by the national referral mechanism (NRM) suggests that the priority source countries for victims of human trafficking to the UK are Nigeria, Vietnam, Romania, China, and Slovakia. Other countries which also feature prominently in the data are Uganda, Albania, Czech Republic, Eritrea, and India. An assessment of the list of priority countries will be undertaken annually.

Work has already begun to better understand the trafficking landscape in priority countries so that the UK can influence those countries to improve and strengthen their approach to tackling human trafficking. The UK has engaged with embassies and Foreign and Commonwealth Office (F&CO) posts to raise awareness of human trafficking and to better support anti-trafficking efforts.

Human trafficking has been included as a priority in F&CO country business plans.

Written (Home Office)

 13 Sep 2012: Column 356W

Anti-slavery Day

 Mr MacShane: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans she has to mark Anti-Slavery Day on 18 October 2012. [120584]

Mr Harper: The Home Office is currently finalising a range of co-ordinated activities for members of the Inter-Departmental Ministerial Group on human trafficking to mark Anti-Slavery Day and to raise awareness.

Written (Home Office)

13 Sep 2012: Column 358W

Human Trafficking: National Referral Mechanism

 Fiona Mactaggart: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans her Department has to make the National Referral Mechanism for Victims of Trafficking a responsibility of the National Crime Agency. [120711]

 Mr Harper: The National Referral Mechanism (NRM) is a multiagency framework for identifying and protecting victims of human trafficking. The UK Human Trafficking Centre (UKHTC), part of the Serious and Organised Crime Agency (SOCA), is responsible for administering data gathered through the NRM. We plan for SOCA’s NRM responsibilities to transition to the National Crime Agency (NCA) along with other capabilities of SOCA at vesting. We are currently conducting detailed design work on the structures of the NCA, including where the NRM would be most effective within the Agency.

 13 Sep 2012: Column 358W

 Human Trafficking: Child Trafficking

 Ann Coffey: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans she has to ensure all local authorities set up a local multi-agency information sharing process to share information on patterns and cases of child trafficking in their area. [120756]

 Mr Harper: Child trafficking is a form of child abuse. In addition to the existing statutory arrangements in place to enable information sharing among partners on child protection issues the Home Office is funding a local multi-agency safeguarding project to support local areas to develop their partnership and information sharing arrangements to safeguard and manage the risks to children and vulnerable people in their area.

Written (FCO)

12 Sep 2012: Column 289W

India – International Cooperation

 Jeremy Lefroy: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if the Government will offer support or expertise to the Indian Government to adopt an anti-trafficking law in respect of the treatment of Dalits in that country. [120216]

Mr Swire: Human trafficking is prohibited under article 23 of the constitution of India. We support co-operation between UK and Indian enforcement agencies in a range of areas and will continue to engage the Indian authorities on measures to combat human trafficking and illegal immigration, including offering UK experience and expertise where appropriate.

Our high commission in New Delhi is involved in a pilot project to improve the exchange of information between agencies dealing with the prevention of trafficking and the rehabilitation of victims of commercial sexual exploitation in India. Our analysis is that trafficking is a particular risk for India’s poorest and socially excluded groups, including Dalits.

The UK Government ensures that all British development programmes are designed to benefit particularly the poorest and most excluded. These programmes help to address some of the ‘push factors’ for trafficking such as poverty, lack of opportunity and illiteracy, and are also a means of raising awareness of the threat of trafficking in rural districts. Examples include the Indian Government’s ‘Education for All’ scheme, which has helped bring the proportion of Dalit children in school into line with their proportion in the general population; and our civil society programmes, which support excluded groups in India’s 90 poorest districts to understand their rights and access government services.

Written (Home Office)

 11 Sep 2012: Column 191W

 Human Trafficking – Prosecutions and Convictions

 David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many people were convicted in relation to people trafficking in the last two years. [120313]

 Damian Green: The number of defendants found guilty at all courts, on a principal offence basis, for human trafficking offences, in England and Wales in 2010 and 2011 can be viewed in the following table.

11 Sep 2012: Column 125W

National Crime Agency – Northern Ireland

 Mark Durkan: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if she will undertake a comparative assessment of the compatibility of her plans for the National Crime Agency (NCA) and provisions for the NCA contained in the Crime and Courts Bill with the principles and arrangements for accountable policing in Northern Ireland resulting from the Belfast Agreement, the Patten Report and other agreements. [120550]

Mrs Villiers: My Department has worked closely with the Home Office and Northern Ireland Department of Justice to ensure that the principles of the Belfast Agreement and other agreements are reflected in the Crime and Courts Bill. The proposed arrangements achieve this by maintaining the primacy of the Chief Constable for policing in Northern Ireland. They also provide for local accountability, through the Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland and a relationship with the Northern Ireland Policing Board.

Mark Durkan: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if she will specify pursuant to the contribution of the Minister of State of 18 June 2012, Official Report, HL column 1609, on the Crime and Courts Bill (Lords), what the mix of reserved and devolved activity to be undertaken by the National Crime Agency in Northern Ireland will include. [120570]

Mrs Villiers: Areas of devolved responsibility in which the National Crime Agency would undertake activity, in partnership with PSNI, include child exploitation, organised crime and cyber crime. The National Crime Agency will also work on reserved matters, for example money laundering, and other matters, such as human trafficking, some elements of which are excepted.

Written (FCO)

10 Sep 2012: Column 8W

Human Trafficking – International Cooperation

 Jeremy Lefroy: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what his policy is on the US administration’s anti-trafficking initiative, launched at the US Consulate-General in Kolkata on 10 June 2012. [119646]

Mr Swire: In line with the UK Government’s strategy launched in 2011 aimed at tackling human-trafficking, the UK Government fully supports the US initiative to create a regional hub in Kolkata to support anti-trafficking work in South Asia. Within the South Asia region our overseas missions continue to work with our international partners to tackle human trafficking. As part of our strategy, and in consultation with our international partners, our deputy high commission in Kolkata also runs its own anti-trafficking programmes aimed at tackling this serious issue.

Written (Home Office)

6 Sep 2012: Column 374W

Human Trafficking: Third Sector

 Mr Bone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment she has made of the role of the Big Society initiative in tackling human trafficking. [118539]

Mr Harper[holding answer 5 September 2012]: The Government have supported a number of initiatives to raise public awareness of human trafficking and encourage community involvement in combating the crime.

Non-governmental organisations are engaged through the Inter-Departmental Ministerial Group (IDMG), which coordinates work on human trafficking across the UK. In future the Group will perform the National Rapporteur function in compliance with the EU directive on trafficking in human beings, analyse trends in human trafficking and produce an annual report on how the UK is complying with its national and international obligations.

There has been no formal assessment of the role of the Big Society initiative in tackling human trafficking.

Written (Home Office)

3 Sep 2012: Column 197W

Human Trafficking – National Referral Mechanism

 Lorely Burt: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what her Department’s estimate is of the number of people trafficked into the UK in each of the last 10 years by nationality and region; and if she will make a statement. [118418]

Damian Green: Victims of human trafficking are identified through the National Referral Mechanism (NRM). The NRM started on 1 April 2009 and data are only available from this date onwards. NRM data do not reflect all instances of human trafficking, only those where the individual was referred to the NRM (and, in the case of adults, where they have consented to be referred to the NRM). All published NRM data, including the number of trafficked victims by nationality, is available on the UK Human Trafficking Centre (UKHTC) portion of the Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA) website:

http://www.soca.gov.uk/about-soca/about-the-ukhtc/national-referral-mechanism/statistics

I have placed copies of the NRM statistical reports covering the period 1 April 2009 to 31 December 2011 in the Library of the House.

Written (DfID)

16 July 2012: Column 559W

Human Trafficking

 Michael Connarty: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development which organisations his Department is funding to counter human trafficking; and where these organisations are based. [116563]

Mr O’Brien: DFID is currently providing funding to the following organisations to counter human trafficking and slavery. The location of each organisation’s headquarters is shown in brackets.

 - Asia Regional Trafficking Programme:

NIMBUS Social Enterprise Consulting (Southampton, UK); Global Alliance Against Traffic in Women (Bangkok, Thailand); International Labour Organization (Geneva, Switzerland); Anti-Slavery International (London, UK). The London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (London, UK) has the contract for monitoring and evaluation.

 - Malawi Anti-Child Trafficking Project:

Salvation Army (London, UK).

 - Challenging Descent-Based Slavery in West Africa:

Anti-Slavery International (London, UK).

-  Slavery and Child Labour: Governance and Social Responsibility:

Anti-Slavery International (London, UK).

Oral (DfID)

11 July 2012: Column 298

 Burma

Yasmin Qureshi (Bolton South East) (Lab): What plans he has for future development assistance to Burma. [116160]

The Secretary of State for International Development (Mr Andrew Mitchell): On 1 March we announced a doubling of British aid to Burma. We are supporting the World Bank in conducting an assessment of the development opportunities there following the remarkable changes which Aung San Suu Kyi underlined in her historic visit to Westminster last month.

 Yasmin Qureshi: For the first time in decades, positive changes in Burma offer hope to refugees to return home. What is the Secretary of State’s Department doing to encourage them to return to Burma?

 Mr Mitchell: We are engaged in Kachin and Rakhine states, both of which are receiving British humanitarian support. I can also announce today that a team of Members of this House, under the Westminster Foundation for Democracy, will be visiting the Burmese Parliament in Naypyidaw later this month.

Mr David Burrowes (Enfield, Southgate) (Con): Despite the signs of hope, I am sure that the Secretary of State will share my concern about the recent reports of human rights abuses in Kachin state—Christians being persecuted, women being gang raped and internally displaced persons camps becoming pools of prey for human trafficking. Can he assure me that international aid with robust human rights protection will reach the Kachin people?

 Mr Mitchell: My hon. Friend identifies a matter of great concern in Kachin. We have set aside £2 million for humanitarian support there, of which some £1.2 million has already been allocated.

Written (DfID)

11 July 2012: Column 290W

 Overseas Aid

Mr Bone: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if he will bring forward proposals for funding to be made available to overseas missions which would be used for local anti-human trafficking projects. [116485]

Mr O’Brien: The Department for International Development (DFID) is already funding a range of anti-trafficking and anti-slavery projects in developing countries. These include projects in India, Bangladesh, Nepal and Malawi. DFID’s regional anti-trafficking project in South Asia aims to reduce trafficking of 60,000 women and girls in the garment and domestic work sectors over four years.

DFID officials are currently discussing with Home Office officials whether there is scope for any additional support to anti-trafficking initiatives in priority countries, within the programme allocations agreed in the Bilateral Aid Review in 2011.

Written (Solicitor General)

9 July 2012: Column 11W

 Human Trafficking

 Mr Bone: To ask the Attorney-General what steps he has taken with regard to the Crown Prosecution Service report on the review of human trafficking legislation. [115963]

The Solicitor-General: The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) is not reviewing the law on human trafficking. However, the CPS has contributed to the Government’s report on the review of human trafficking legislation which was published on 22 June 2012. This review of legislation was a commitment set out in the Government’s Human Trafficking Strategy published in July 2011. The report on the review of human trafficking legislation is now available on the Home Office website.

The review identified three areas where legislation in England and Wales could be strengthened and new legislation is already being introduced in two of these areas. To comply with the EU Directive on Trafficking in Human Beings, amendments to current human trafficking offences are included in the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012. The third area identified relates to the unduly lenient sentence mechanism. Steps are being taken to ensure that in all human trafficking offences the Law Officers’ can consider referring the case for an increase in sentence where it appears that the sentence was unduly lenient.

Written (Northern Ireland)

4 July 2012: Column 663W

 Cross-border Trafficking

 Mr Bone: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what recent discussions he has had with the First Minister on people trafficked into Northern Ireland from the Republic of Ireland. [114384]

Mr Swire: Although issues relating to Human Trafficking are now a devolved matter I have discussed this subject with Mr David Ford, the Minister of Justice in Northern Ireland on a number of occasions. I have also facilitated a number of meetings on the issue between Mr Ford and other interested parties, including the Irish Government, which led to the establishment by the NI Executive of an All Party Group on human trafficking.

Oral (Wales)

27 Jun 2012 : Column 295

Human Trafficking Commissioner

 Mr Peter Bone (Wellingborough) (Con): What discussions she has had with the First Minister on the effectiveness in Wales of the Human Trafficking Commissioner. [113174]

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Wales (Mr David Jones): Combating human trafficking is a key priority for the Government, and we fully recognise the importance of tackling the issue in Wales. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has not discussed this issue with the First Minister, although she has met the anti-human trafficking co-ordinator for Wales. [Interruption.]

Mr Speaker: Order. These are extremely serious matters. I think people would expect us to treat them with some seriousness and to listen to Mr Peter Bone.

 Mr Bone: I thank the Minister for his response. The Prime Minister is leading Europe in the fight against human trafficking, but could we not learn something in England by adopting the Welsh idea of having an English commissioner against human trafficking?

 Mr Jones: The principal reason that Wales has an anti-human trafficking co-ordinator is that, while policing and justice are undevolved, such issues as child care are devolved. It therefore makes sense for there to be a co-ordinator in Wales. In England, where there is no such issue of devolution, the question does not arise.

Written (Justice)

 27 Jun 2012 : Column 258W

Human Trafficking: Victim Support Schemes

 Mr MacShane: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the (a) nationality and (b) gender was of each suspected victim of trafficking referred to the Trafficking Victim Support scheme operated by the Salvation Army in (i) March and (ii) May 2012; in which region each of the suspected victims was found; and which agency referred each case to the scheme. [113330]

Mr Blunt: In March 2012 there were 38 referrals to the Government-funded support service for adult victims of human trafficking in England and Wales administered by the Salvation Army. In May there were 70. Details are provided in the following table:

Oral (FCO)

19 Jun 2012 : Column 724

Human Trafficking

 John Robertson (Glasgow North West) (Lab): What recent discussions he has had with the government of Singapore on human trafficking. [112340]

The Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Mr Jeremy Browne): Our high commission in Singapore has supported local anti-trafficking initiatives. We welcome Singapore’s first national plan of action against trafficking in persons, published in March 2012, and look forward to further measures being implemented to tackle the problem.

 John Robertson: We all agree that Singapore’s Government are moving in the right direction, and they have been backed up by EU parliamentarians. Is it not time that we used in the Commonwealth what has happened in Singapore and is happening in the EU? Is anything being done in the Commonwealth in relation to Singapore?

Mr Browne: It is fair to say that Singapore is not one of the nine priority countries on human trafficking that the Home Office identified last year, which are Nigeria, China, Vietnam, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Uganda, Romania, India and Albania. We nevertheless recognise that there are concerns. Progress has been made, and we are keen to work with others in the Commonwealth and further afield to make further progress.

 Mr David Burrowes (Enfield, Southgate) (Con): Given that human trafficking is a cross-Government issue, what steps is the Minister taking with the Department for International Development to ensure that as we pursue the millennium development goals and sustainable development goals, the goal of tackling human trafficking is not missed?

 Mr Browne: My hon. Friend makes an important point. Every Department that is relevant to this serious abuse of human beings needs to be engaged, and is engaged, in trying to make further progress. That includes DFID as well as the Foreign Office and Home Office.

Written (Home Office)

19 Jun 2012 : Column 871W

Human Trafficking

Mr Bone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what training is provided to enable police and UK Border Agency staff to recognise victims of human trafficking. [111756]

Damian Green[holding answer 14 June 2012]: An e-learning human trafficking training package has been developed for UK Border Agency and Border Force staff. This is mandatory for all frontline officers and helps staff identify those who might have been trafficked and understand the steps that should be taken to safeguard possible victims.

Police training is a matter for individual forces. Assistance is available from the UK Human Trafficking Centre, which provides tactical advice via a 24/7 helpline and can deliver bespoke training material on request.

Written (FCO)

19 Jun 2012 : Column 908W

Diplomatic Service: Human Trafficking

Mr Bone: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the role played by the UK’s overseas missions in tackling the problem of human trafficking. [112517]

Mr Jeremy Browne: Our embassies and high commissions provide a platform for departments including the Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA), the Department for International Development (DFID) and the UK Border Agency (UKBA) to implement the Government’s Human Trafficking Strategy overseas. Work is primarily focused on the nine top source countries for potentially trafficked victims in the UK and some work is carried out in transit countries.

Our embassies and high commissions make a valuable contribution to tackling human trafficking including through:

working with foreign governments and other organisations to build their capacity to disrupt human trafficking, for example by working with investigators and prosecutors to increase prosecutions for human trafficking offences;

addressing the root causes of human trafficking through DFID’s work to alleviate poverty overseas, for example the four-year DFID-led South Asia Project covering India, Nepal and Bangladesh which aims to reduce the number of women and girls from being trafficked and to protect the rights of women and girls who migrate for work from Asia;

encouraging governments in source and transit countries to take the lead to protect potential victims and reintegrate victims; and

contributing to the UK’s and international efforts to combat trafficking by ensuring that UK interests are effectively represented bilaterally and in multilateral fora, including the EU and the UN.

Written (Justice)

19 Jun 2012 : Column 917W

Human Trafficking: Convictions

Fiona Mactaggart: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many convictions there were for offences related to human trafficking in 2011. [112431]

Mr Blunt: The number of defendants found guilty at all courts in England and Wales in 2011 for human trafficking offences, on a principal offence basis, is eight.

Oral (Education)

18 Jun 2012 : Column 593

Human Trafficking

Mr Peter Bone (Wellingborough) (Con): What steps schools are taking to raise awareness of the effect of human trafficking. [111836]

The Minister for Further Education, Skills and Lifelong Learning (Mr John Hayes): Human trafficking is an outrage. William Wilberforce spoke of “this bloody traffic, of which our posterity, looking back…will scarce believe that it has been suffered to exist so long a disgrace and dishonour to this country.” We must be in our age as determined as he was in his to end the pain of this wicked trade in human lives.

Mr Bone: The Minister and the Prime Minister have shown their commitment to fighting human trafficking, but the dreadful case that was recently reported of internal trafficking within the United Kingdom shows the necessity of our schools highlighting this evil crime. Will the Minister meet me, other members of the all-party group on human trafficking and Anthony Steen to discuss how we can take the matter forward?

Mr Hayes: Yes, of course I will. My hon. Friend is absolutely right that schools have a vital role to play, which was why we issued new guidelines to that end. He will also know that since he last asked me about this matter—he is a doughty champion of the victims of this dreadful trade—I have, as he asked, written to charities to engage them in the process.

Paul Goggins (Wythenshawe and Sale East) (Lab): In line with the recommendations in today’s report on children who go missing from care, will the Minister please discuss with his colleagues in the Home Office the importance of keeping on the police national database the details of all trafficked children who go missing, so that they are not forgotten and so that if, for example, they turn up in a cannabis factory, they can be treated immediately as victims rather than criminals?

Mr Hayes: The right hon. Gentleman is quite right to draw attention to that excellent report, which I was able to read this morning. He is right that co-ordinated action by local authorities, the Home Office and the Department for Education is vital, and we will indeed go about that business in the fashion and spirit that he describes.

Jane Ellison (Battersea) (Con): On the subject of raising awareness of crime in schools, some primary-age girls are at particular risk of being taken abroad in the long summer holidays to suffer female genital mutilation. Will the Minister take this opportunity to emphasise the safeguarding responsibilities of schools in that regard?

Mr Hayes: Yes, indeed. I had a meeting with my officials and discussed just that matter. It is, as my hon. Friend will know—because she has also been a champion of these matters—something that happens across the year in different volumes. There are peak periods for this, and we need to take action to take account of that and to use all agencies to offer the right kind of advice in those areas that are most vulnerable and to those young people who are most vulnerable.

 Lisa Nandy (Wigan) (Lab): In the response to today’s report on children in care, Ministers made no mention of the 60% of trafficked children who routinely go missing. Will he respond to widespread concerns surrounding the move of the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre into the National Crime Agency, described by CEOP’s former head as about saving face, not saving children, and ensure that child safeguarding is made an explicit strategic priority for the NCA so that the focus on these children is not lost?

 Mr Hayes: The Secretary of State and the Under-Secretary of State for Education, the hon. Member for East Worthing and Shoreham (Tim Loughton), who has responsibility for children, are having a meeting this afternoon on just those matters, to ensure that our response is co-ordinated in the way the hon. Lady describes. It is fair to say that there is an issue about the different claims about the number of children who go missing and the need for a more consistent approach to how those records are maintained. I hear what she says and it will no doubt help to inform the discussions that will take place this afternoon—because we do not hesitate on these matters—between the Secretary of State and the Under-Secretary.

Oral (Education)

 18 Jun 2012 : Column 606

Topical Questions

 David Simpson (Upper Bann) (DUP): The Minister will be aware that in Amnesty International’s recent young human rights report 2012, young students had written pieces on child brides and on human trafficking. Does he agree that teachers have a key role in both challenging and inspiring pupils to take up such causes?

 Tim Loughton: The hon. Gentleman is absolutely correct. He has rightly made that into something of a cause, because those offences against children are going on too much and under the radar. First, we need to ensure that they come out into the daylight of transparency so that we can see exactly what is going on. We need to inform children better, within and outwith schools, on what they should be sensitive to. We need to work with local safeguarding children boards and with others whose job is to ensure that all the agencies work together to ensure that children are kept safe from those unhappy practices that are going on too often.

Written (Work and Pensions)

 14 Jun 2012 : Column 525W

Human Trafficking

 Mr Bone: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what training his Department provides to enable its staff to recognise victims of human trafficking. [111757]

 Chris Grayling: The learning programme for the Department for Work and Pensions focuses on raising awareness of the customer’s personal circumstances and also recognises that these can affect individuals in different ways and will change over time.

All staff receive foundation learning which covers excellent customer service, diversity and customer needs. These deal with the wide range of circumstances that our customers may have, some less obvious than others, and stress how important it is to look for signs where the customer does not give us this information directly and to offer appropriate support.

In particular the learning programme for Jobcentre Plus advisers is regularly updated to ensure advisers have up-to-date skills to deal with any customer interaction, and supports them in making relevant and appropriate decisions on individual customers. The key messages throughout the learning focus on providing a personalised, flexible service to customers and treating them as individuals, building strong relationships with them.

The learning provides an understanding of why this approach is important; what it means to the claimant; what it looks like and how it works in practice. It further supports the adviser to identify the range of claimants and the level of individual support they would need to provide.

Written (Health)

 14 Jun 2012 : Column 548W

Health Services: Human Trafficking

Mr Bone: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what training his Department provides to enable NHS staff to recognise victims of human trafficking. [111755]

Anne Milton: The content and standard of health care training is generally the responsibility of the independent regulatory bodies. However, given the Government’s commitment to tackle human trafficking and violence against women and children, the Department of Health is working with a third sector strategic partner to develop a training toolkit for health professionals with the aim of improving the health service response to victims of human trafficking. The toolkit will be finalised by December 2012.

There is already guidance on related areas such as domestic and sexual violence, and the Department continues to work closely with professional bodies on improving the health service response to victims of violence.

Written (Olympics)

 14 Jun 2012 : Column 572W

Olympic Games 2012

 Mr Bone: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what training his Department provides to enable its staff involved with the London 2012 Olympics to recognise victims of human trafficking. [111754]

Hugh Robertson: The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) is not providing training for its staff working on the Games to recognise victims of human trafficking, as DCMS staff will not have frontline Games-time operational responsibilities for this issue. Personnel who are involved in combating trafficking, such as police officers, are provided with training and awareness material as part of core policing business.

To date, DCMS is not aware of any evidence of an increase in human trafficking as a result of the Games. However, the Government remains vigilant, and has measures in place to deal with any potential increase.

Written (Home Office)

13 Jun 2012 : Column 482W

Human Trafficking Ministerial Group

 Mark Durkan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 24 May 2012, Official Report, column 792W, on the Human Trafficking Ministerial Group, whether there was agreement on establishing a Rapporteur on Human Trafficking independent of the Inter-Departmental Ministerial Group. [110947]

 Damian Green: The Inter-Ministerial Group on Human Trafficking agreed that it acts as a sufficient equivalent mechanism to act as a National Rapporteur and. Its terms of reference have been drafted to reflect this.

Written (Justice)

13 Jun 2012 : Column 498W

Human Trafficking: Victim Support Schemes

 Elizabeth Truss: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the (a) nationality and (b) gender was of each suspected victim of trafficking referred to the Trafficking Victim Support scheme operated by the Salvation Army in April 2012; in which region each of the suspected victims was found; and which agency referred each case to the scheme. [111108]

 Mr Blunt: In April 2012 there were 41 referrals to the Government-funded support service for adult victims of human trafficking in England and Wales administered by the Salvation Army. Details are provided in the following table.

Written (Home Office)

11 Jun 2012 : Column 75W

Human Trafficking Ministerial Group

 Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department who attended the April 2012 meeting of the Inter-Departmental Ministerial Group on Human Trafficking; what items were on the group’s agenda at that meeting; and what conclusions were reached. [109728]

 Damian Green: The group discussed human trafficking and the Olympics, its role as National Rapporteur and assessments of trends in human trafficking. It agreed revised terms of reference to reflect its role as the National Rapporteur. A list of members and attendees for this meeting is provided as follows:

 Inter-Departmental Ministerial Group (IDMG) on Human Trafficking

 Ministerial-level meeting attendees and non-attending members

17 April 2012

 Attendees:

Damian Green MP, Minister for Immigration (Chair)

Tim Loughton MP, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Children and Families

Jeremy Browne MP, Minister of State, FCO

Crispin Blunt MP, Minister for Justice

Baroness Hanham MP, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Communities

David Jones MP, Wales Office

David Ford MLA, Northern Ireland Executive

Apologies:

Lynne Featherstone MP, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Equalities and Criminal Information

Stephen O’Brien MP, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for International Development⁽¹⁾

Anne Milton MP, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Public Health⁽¹⁾

Chris Grayling MP, Minister for Employment⁽¹⁾

Kenny MacAskill MSP, Cabinet Secretary for Justice, Scottish Executive⁽¹⁾

David Mundell MP, Scotland Office⁽¹⁾

Carl Sargeant AM, Welsh Assembly Government

Edward Garnier QC MP, Solicitor-General⁽¹⁾

(1)   Indicates official level deputies present at the meeting.

Written (Home Office)

 11 Jun 2012 : Column 76W

Human Trafficking: Children

Michael Connarty: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Burnley of 17 May 2012, Official Report, column 256W, on human trafficking: children, what steps she is taking to (a) enhance her Department’s ability to act early upstream and (b) achieve smarter multi-agency work at the border in order to tackle child trafficking. [109523]

Damian Green: The Government’s Human Trafficking strategy includes a number of actions designed to enhance the United Kingdom’s ability to act early and to deliver smarter multi-agency working at the border to better identify and protect human trafficking victims, including child victims.

Specifically, the Home Office, working in partnership with a range of Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) and other partners, is using existing networks abroad to tackle this issue. For example we have written to Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) posts stationed in identified priority countries to include human trafficking in their country business plans and to raise awareness. We have also facilitated contact between CEOP International Child Protection Networks abroad and NGOs to ensure that we combine all our efforts to act early upstream on this issue.

The Home Office is also reviewing the information available on embassy websites for people intending to travel or work in the UK, in order to raise awareness of the threat of trafficking.

The Department for International Development (DFID) is also supporting a new regional anti-trafficking project in South Asia, focusing especially on labour migration of women and girls in the garment and domestic sectors in India, Bangladesh and Nepal. The programme aims to reduce trafficking of 60,000 women and girls in these sectors over four years and the Home Office is represented on its steering group.

The Government is also working to raise awareness locally and build on the success of multi-agency child safeguarding teams at the border such as Operation Newbridge and Paladin by mapping the key components of these models and working to ensure that intelligence structures are in place to support identification of priority threat ports. We are raising awareness of these models locally for example through inclusion of these good practice examples in updated guidance for practitioners ‘Safeguarding Children who may have been trafficked’. This guidance can be found at:

https://www.education.gov.uk/publications/standard/publicationDetail/Page1/DFE-00084-2011

We are also raising awareness of child trafficking as a form of human trafficking with the airline industry, and this has successfully been tested with Virgin Atlantic.

Written (Home Office)

 11 Jun 2012 : Column 76W

Human Trafficking: Children

 John Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department with reference to the answer of 19 April 2012, Official Report, column 459W, on human trafficking: children, how many UK nationals were victims of child trafficking in each year since April 2009. [109595]

 Damian Green: The following data, provided by the UK Human Trafficking Centre, set out the numbers of conclusive decisions made on UK minors under the National Referral Mechanism (NRM), in each year for which data are available since 2009.

These data show the number of minors referred to the NRM who have received a positive Conclusive Grounds decision and have, therefore, been found to be a victim of trafficking.

Written (Justice)

 11 Jun 2012 : Column 350W

Human Trafficking: North West

 Andrew Stephenson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many convictions for human trafficking there have been in (a) the North West, (b) Lancashire and (c) Pendle in each of the last three years. [110084]

Mr Blunt: The number of defendants found guilty at all courts for offences of human trafficking, by police force area in the North West, from 2008 to 2011 can be viewed in the table.

Court proceedings data are not available at parliamentary constituency level.

Written (Home Office)

24 May 2012 : Column 792W

Human Trafficking Ministerial Group

 Mark Durkan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what matters were discussed at the Inter-Departmental Ministerial Group on Human Trafficking’s latest meeting; and who attended the meeting. [109466]

Damian Green: The Group discussed human trafficking and the Olympics, its role as National Rapporteur and assessments of trends in human trafficking. A list of Members and attendees for this meeting is provided as follows:

Inter-Departmental Ministerial Group (IDMG) on Human Trafficking ministerial-level meeting attendees and non-attending Members; 17 April 2012

 Attendees:

Damian Green MP, Minister for Immigration (Chair)

Tim Loughton MP, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Children and Families

Jeremy Browne MP, Minister of State, FCO

Crispin Blunt MP, Minister for Justice

Baroness Hanham MP, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Communities

David Jones MP, Wales Office

David Ford MLA, Northern Ireland Executive

Apologies:

Lynne Featherstone MP, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Equalities and Criminal Information

Stephen O’Brien, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for International Development⁽¹⁾

Anne Milton MP, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Public Health⁽¹⁾

Chris Grayling MP, Minister for Employment⁽¹⁾

Kenny MacAskill MSP, Cabinet Secretary for Justice, Scottish Executive⁽¹⁾

David Mundell MP, Scotland Office⁽¹⁾

Carl Sargeant AM, Welsh Assembly Government

Edward Gamier QC MP, Solicitor General⁽¹⁾

⁽¹⁾ Indicates official level deputies present at the meeting.
Oral statement (DEFRA)

24 May 2012 : Column 84WS

Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Gangmasters Licensing Authority (Red Tape Challenge)

 The Minister of State, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Mr James Paice): The Gangmasters Licensing Authority (GLA) has been considered under the employment theme of the Government’s red tape challenge. Last December, we announced that the red tape challenge ministerial star chamber had endorsed the need for the GLA to continue to enforce protection for vulnerable workers, while requiring it to look at reducing burdens on compliant operators. The GLA has been further considered within the red tape challenge and I am today announcing the outcome of that process.

The GLA has done a great deal of valuable work since it was formally constituted on 1 April 2005 with cross-party support. Seven years on, it is a good time to see where improvements can be made so that the authority can become more focused on the worst excesses in the areas it regulates and work more closely with other agencies that tackle crime. I therefore propose to bring forward measures, including where necessary legislation, subject to public consultation, which will:

Ensure GLA targets suspected serious and organised crime by working more closely with the Serious Organised Crime Authority and other specialist law enforcement agencies;

Ensure that evidence of worker exploitation by unlicensed gangmasters or licence holders will contribute effectively to continued successful investigation and prosecution of organised crime groups and assist in the earlier identification of the victims of human trafficking;

Reduce the burden on compliant labour providers and labour users and focus forensically on gross abuse of workers by unscrupulous gangmasters—whose crimes include tax evasion, trafficking, health and safety negligence and other serious crimes;

Streamline the process for issuing licences and remove the general requirement for an application inspection and associated fee, aim to reduce fees and charges and extend the licensing period from twelve months to two years or more for highly compliant businesses;

Remove from scope of the GLA, activities or sectors which are low risk, including:

apprenticeships;

forestry;

cleaning contractors;

land agents; and

voluntary workers.

Provide for those with exclusive rights to use the seashore for shellfish cultivation to be able use their workers to grade and gather shellfish stock without needing to be licensed as a gangmaster. This measure would leave fully in scope of the Act activities such as the gathering of cockles from public shellfish beds;

Introduce administrative fines and penalties for low-level and technical minor offences, including a measure similar to a repayment order to achieve rapid reimbursement to an exploited worker of wages or other payment which has been removed;

Adopt an approach in respect of a labour user who uses an unlicensed gangmaster proportionate to the circumstances of the offence, for example the financial advantage gained and whether or not there has been abuse of the workers; and

Amend the structure of the board of the GLA and introduce a smaller board to provide clear strategic leadership and direction to the GLA.

These changes will free up resources within the GLA to provide for greater effort to be focused on identifying and eliminating criminality in those sectors and activities covered by the authority, such as food processing, where exploitation of the most vulnerable workers is known to exist. In addition it will remove an estimated 150 current licence holders from the scope of the GLA, saving around £60,000 a year, and potentially reduce annual inspection charges from £300,000 a year to zero.

Written (Home Office)

23 May 2012 : Column 674W

Human Trafficking

 Fiona Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many officials are involved in administering the National Referral Mechanism for suspected victims of trafficking; and in what parts of the country these officials are based. [108879]

 Damian Green: Under the National Referral Mechanism decisions about who is a victim of trafficking can only be made by trained specialists. The UK Human Trafficking Centre (UKHTC), part of the Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA), and the UK Border Agency are the only designated ‘Competent Authorities’ able to perform this role. Seven staff located within the UKHTC in Birmingham—including five SOCA officers and two staff seconded from the UK Border Agency—undertake this role on a full time basis. In addition approximately 120 trained staff within the UK Border Agency who are located across the United Kingdom undertake this role alongside other duties.

Fiona Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what cost was incurred by the (a) UK Border Agency and (b) UK Human Trafficking Centre in administering the National Referral Mechanism for suspected victims of trafficking in the latest period for which figures are available. [108880]

 Damian Green: Funds have not been specifically allocated to administering the National Referral Mechanism and work has been absorbed within business as usual running costs by the UK Border Agency and the UK Human Trafficking Centre, part of the Serious Organised Crime Agency. Details of the annual accounts of the UK Border Agency and Serious Organised Crime Agency can be found using the following links:

UK Border Agency

http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/sitecontent/documents/aboutus/annual-reports-accounts/

 Serious and Organised Crime Agency

http://www.soca.gov.uk/about-soca/library

Oral (Attorney General)

22 May 2012 : Column 983

The Attorney-General was asked—

 Human Trafficking (Prosecutions)

 Mr Peter Bone (Wellingborough) (Con): How many prosecutions the Crown Prosecution Service brought for human trafficking in the last 12 months. [108450]

 Keith Vaz (Leicester East) (Lab): What steps he is taking to increase the number of prosecutions for human trafficking. [108455]

 The Attorney-General (Mr Dominic Grieve): The Crown Prosecution Service has charged and prosecuted 133 offences of human trafficking in the past 12 months, 1 May 2011 to 30 April 2012. The CPS prosecutes human trafficking-related cases under other legislation as well. The CPS is taking a number of steps to increase prosecutions, but is dependent on cases being referred for investigation by law enforcement agencies.

 Mr Bone: We have another Minister at the Dispatch Box who is also box office. May I encourage him to look at the problem where police spend time, money and effort breaking up criminal gangs of human traffickers, only for the CPS to charge them with much lesser offences, getting shorter sentences that are no deterrent to the human traffickers? It is essential that we prosecute people for human trafficking. What can the Attorney-General do?

 The Attorney-General: I agree entirely with my hon. Friend that it is important that the right offences should be prosecuted, and if he wishes to draw to my attention instances where he feels that has not happened, I am always prepared to take the matter up. It is also right to point out that in deciding how to prosecute, the Crown Prosecution Service will look very carefully at all the surrounding issues, including sometimes the vulnerability of the offender, and may on occasion consider that the best way in which the public interest can be served is in prosecuting a lesser offence, but the principle must always be that the offence charged and prosecuted should meet the gravity of the crime.

Keith Vaz: I agree with the hon. Member for Wellingborough (Mr Bone) and pay tribute to him for the work he does in this area. Some 100,000 people are trafficked around Europe every year. This is a cross-border crime that requires cross-border co-operation. What steps is the Attorney-General taking through the Crown Prosecution Service and the Metropolitan police to work with Interpol and Europol to find the perpetrators of this cross-border crime and make sure that they are brought to justice? It must be done on an international basis.

The Attorney-General: I agree entirely with the right hon. Gentleman. It is indeed an international crime. Within the European Union there are CPS liaison magistrates in other countries, the European Judicial Network contacts, the Serious Organised Crime Agency liaison officers and Eurojust to assist. Outside the EU the position is more complicated, but we have some liaison CPS working in a number of countries with which we have particular important links. The right hon. Gentleman will be aware that under the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012, the extraterritoriality provisions provided for in EU directives have been implemented, although they have not yet been brought into operation, so that these offences can now be prosecuted here even if they were committed abroad. Ultimately, the CPS will be dependent on the evidence produced to it. That will come from the police or SOCA, and for those reasons, the CPS, while doing its best, will always continue to be dependent on the quality of the information it gets.

Tom Brake (Carshalton and Wallington) (LD): Does the Attorney-General agree that just as the CPS must increase the number of prosecutions against people guilty of human trafficking, it must also stop prosecuting those who have been trafficked, such as in the case of AVN?

The Attorney-General: Yes, I agree entirely with the right hon. Gentleman. As he knows, the CPS has a process in operation, which has been echoed by the Home Office, to provide protection for those who have been trafficked. He will also be aware that, with the encouragement of all political parties, the previous Government signed up to providing protection against deportation for those who had been trafficked.

Dr William McCrea (South Antrim) (DUP): As the tragedy of human trafficking crosses all regions of the United Kingdom, what recent discussions have been held with the devolved Administrations?

22 May 2012 : Column 984

 The Attorney-General: I agree entirely with the hon. Gentleman. The best thing I can do is write to him. I am perfectly aware that the CPS liaises extensively with the CPS in Northern Ireland and the Lord Advocate’s Department in Scotland, and I will provide him with that information.

Written (FCO)

 21 May 2012 : Column 448W

Eritrea

 Tony Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether his Department has made an estimate of the number of refugees leaving Eritrea in the last year; and whether it has assessed (a) how these numbers compare to other countries with similar problems on a per capita basis, (b) the reasons why Eritreans are seeking to leave their country and (c) the effect of this outflow regionally and internationally, including the effect of regional traffickers seeking to exploit the situation. [106882]

 Mr Bellingham: According to statistics received from the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), over the past year around 35,000 Eritreans have been registered in Ethiopia and Sudan as refugees. But it is worth noting that not all refugees leave by these routes or register at the camps. The figure is therefore likely to be higher. The number of refugees is likely to remain high in 2012 thereby increasing the burden put on Ethiopia and Sudan. Most of the refugees are young men and women fleeing compulsory national service. On 8 February 2012, senior Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) and UK Border Agency officials met the visiting high level Eritrean delegation to discuss initiatives to combat trafficking. We have also urged Eritrea to bring to justice any Eritreans involved in human trafficking.

Comparing refugee numbers on an international and per capita basis is a sensitive and complex task which would require a disproportionate amount of time and resources to deliver. The FCO currently refers to the UNHCR for the refugee situation around the world since they are better placed and resourced to make assessments.

Oral (Home Office)

21 May 2012 : Column 838

Human Trafficking

Andrew Selous (South West Bedfordshire) (Con): What recent steps she has taken to eradicate human trafficking. [108047]

 The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department (Lynne Featherstone): In 2011, the Government published their human trafficking strategy, opted into the EU directive and improved the support arrangements for adult trafficking victims. Since then we have been working across Government and with stakeholders further to strengthen and improve our approach to tackling human trafficking.

 Andrew Selous: Many people believe that trafficking is about foreigners being trafficked into the UK, but do the Government accept the need for great vigilance on the question of British citizens being trafficked within the United Kingdom and outside it, which has recently been shown to be happening?

 Lynne Featherstone: Of course, the terrible incident in Bedfordshire highlighted the issue of internal trafficking and the Government have taken action. We recently passed clauses in the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 to make internal labour trafficking a criminal offence, which will come into force in April 2013. We also made it an offence for a UK national to traffic a person for sexual or other exploitation, regardless of where in the world the trafficking occurs or is intended to occur.

Written (Home Office)

 17 May 2012 : Column 257W

Human Trafficking

 Fiona Mactaggart: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when officials in her Department last discussed with (a) their Finnish counterparts and (b) the Finnish Ombudsman for Minorities the effects of the Independent National Rapporteur on Trafficking in Human Beings on the Finnish government’s human trafficking policies. [106567]

Damian Green[holding answer 14 May 2012]: Discussions take place regularly at official level on a regular basis between the United Kingdom and other EU member states to exchange national experiences, develop best practice and co-ordinate efforts across Europe.

Written (Home Office)

 17 May 2012 : Column 256W

Human Trafficking: Children

Gordon Birtwistle: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps she is taking to prevent further incidences of child trafficking. [107663]

Damian Green: The Government published its Human Trafficking Strategy in July 2011, which sets out a targeted and more comprehensive approach to trafficking by improving identification and care of victims and combating those responsible for this terrible crime.

The Home Office has enhanced its ability to act early upstream and is working with partners to raise awareness abroad of the risks of child trafficking. A key theme of the strategy is smarter multi-agency working at the border and the Department will look to work with partners to build on the success of child safeguarding multi-agency teams such as Operation Paladin and Newbridge.

Oral (Debate on Queen’s Speech)

15 May 2012 : Column 413

 Debate on the Address

[4th Day]

Debate resumed (Order, 9May),

 Foreign Affairs and International Development

…..

15 May 2012 : Column 473

Dr Andrew Murrison (South West Wiltshire) (Con): It is always a great pleasure to follow the right hon. Member for Rotherham (Mr MacShane), whose knowledge of these matters is renowned. I take issue with his remarks about un-splendid isolation, however, because I struggle to reconcile that with his right hon. Friend the shadow Foreign Secretary’s assertion that the Government’s foreign policy has a hint of imperial delusion. One can either be an isolationist or an imperialist; it is very difficult to be both at the same time.

I am pleased that my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary took some time to describe the problems relating to north Africa and the middle east and, in particular, to identify the challenges in the Sahel region. There is a real risk that, with our interest in things going on elsewhere in the world, we could take our eye off the ball in this troubled region, which could easily become a crucible for insurgency, people trafficking, narcotics and terrorism. The countries of north Africa are well apprised of the dangers of the situation and are most keen that the European Union take early action to ensure that the situation in the Sahel does not deteriorate any further.

The Maghreb is a bulwark against the instability that may well issue forth from the ungoverned spaces of that part of Africa. We have watched with some dismay the deteriorating situation in Mali and in Niger, especially the trouble in the north of Mali as Tuareg insurgents return from military duties in Libya to occupy large swathes of that country, and particularly the area around Timbuktu. That could well act as a catalyst for disruption and dismay in the wider region that might easily have knock-on effects, especially for Algeria and Morocco. Many of us hope sincerely that there will be a rapprochement between Algeria and Morocco and that, in particular, the situation in the Tindouf camps will be resolved without too much further delay. Indeed, the stability of the whole region appears to hinge on the nexus between Rabat and Algiers.

Written (Ministry of Justice)

15 May 2012 : Column 86W

Human Trafficking

Fiona Mactaggart: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many convictions there were for offences related to human trafficking in each year since 2004. [106691]

Mr Blunt: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 20 February 2012, Official Report, column 612W.

Annual court proceedings data for 2011 are planned for publication 24 May 2012.

Oral (PM – debate on Queen’s Speech)

9 May 2012 : Column 27

Sarah Newton (Truro and Falmouth) (Con): Does my right hon. Friend agree that it is essential that we have all-party support for this critically important issue? It is essential to have a draft Bill so that we do the hard work in this Parliament to make sure that we can legislate for carers in our country.

The Prime Minister: My hon. Friend makes a very good point. Genuinely to crack the issue, which has dogged Governments for decades, we will need cross-party working to deliver the social care changes we need.

Let me turn to some of the crime measures, as they are extremely important. The police do a fantastic job, and we should pay tribute to their work, but we need to accept that there are some crimes that our existing police forces cannot deal with on their own: the cyber-attacks that threaten our national security, the organised gangs supplying drugs to children on the streets and the massive industry of human trafficking. Today, we have seen the horrific case in Rochdale of children being groomed for sex—modern-day slavery in our own country. That is why we need a national crime agency—a British FBI, if you like—and with this Queen’s Speech we will deliver it.

I want to see tough community sentences that are a real punishment, and we shall be legislating for them as well. Without such measures, we will never convince the police, the courts or the public that these sentences are proper alternatives to prison.

Written (Home Office)

 30 Apr 2012 : Column 1094W

Human Trafficking: Asylum

 Stephen Phillips: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the average waiting time was for the conclusion of asylum applications of victims of human trafficking in each of the last three years. [103559]

Damian Green: The requested data are shown in the following table.

Lords Oral (Education)

25 Apr 2012 : Column 1785

Spencer Perceval

 Question

 3.13 pm

Asked By Lord Blair of Boughton

 To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they intend to mark the 200th anniversary of the assassination of Spencer Perceval, Prime Minister and parliamentary supporter of the abolition of slavery, on 11 May 2012.

 Lord Wallace of Saltaire: My Lords, the National Archives holds a number of records relating to the assassination of Spencer Perceval. To mark the 200th anniversary, a selection of these will be digitised and made available online through the National Archives website. The full range of records held by the National Archives about Spencer Perceval can be viewed in the reading room at Kew. The noble Lord might also like to know that a number of events are planned by the House authorities to mark the anniversary. These were set out recently in response to a Written Question by the Chairman of Committees.

 Lord Blair of Boughton: I am most grateful to the Minister for that Answer. I confess to being somewhat surprised that there is no memorial to such a grave and unique event within the precincts of Parliament. Perhaps, before I get to my supplementary question, I may beg the indulgence of the House for a momentary reflection on this man and his relevance to our times. Above all, he was the House of Commons end of Wilberforce’s great campaign for legislation to abolish slavery. Will the Government use the anniversary of Perceval’s death to consider whether enough is being done in this country to combat the pernicious and degrading trafficking of women and girls for sexual purposes by organised crime, of which we have seen appalling examples in recent years in Lancashire and Yorkshire and, only a few weeks ago, allegedly in Oxford?

 Lord Wallace of Saltaire: My Lords, there is a rather large monument in Westminster Abbey to Spencer Perceval. On the question of whether there should be one here, since I also have connections to Westminster Abbey, I am not enormously in favour of adding more political statues within the Abbey and I am not sure how many more memorials we necessarily want around here-that is a personal view, not the Government’s view. On the trafficking of women, the Government issued their human trafficking strategy last year as a White Paper. We are carrying further the excellent work already undertaken by our predecessors on this very serious problem. It is not just a matter of the trafficking of women; a quarter of those who were trafficked in the last two years were children. The trafficking of children to this country is also a very serious problem.

 The Lord Bishop of Chichester: My Lords, does the Minister agree that the continuation of slavery and quasi-slavery in very many parts of the world 200 years after the so-called abolition of slavery continues to be a scandal, and could he outline what Her Majesty’s Government intend to do in order to continually influence our partners in the international community to bring this to a speedy end?

 Lord Wallace of Saltaire: My Lords, sadly, slavery has been with us from time immemorial. Governments have worked for more than 200 years now to get rid of slavery, but we are conscious that we do find instances, even within this country, where effective slavery is imposed, even occasionally on men. We are therefore working within and outside Britain through the United Nations, the Council of Europe convention and EU directives, and closely with our partners across the Channel, to see what we can do to operate against this worldwide problem.

 Lord Walpole: My Lords, does the Minister know that I am directly descended from Spencer Perceval’s sister, and that Henry Bellingham, the Member of Parliament for King’s Lynn and now in the Foreign Office, is directly descended from his assassin? Mr Bellingham and I do speak to each other.

 Lord Wallace of Saltaire: My Lords, I should like to know which sister he is descended from, because my understanding is that he had at least six sisters and at least six brothers. I should therefore explain that he was one of the many sons of the Earl of Egmont, so he was not entirely a commoner.

 Lord Lexden: My Lords, would my noble friend think of reminding Mr Henry Bellingham that he has already experienced the Perceval family’s taste for revenge, having been deprived of his Commons seat at the 1997 election by a direct descendant of the assassinated Prime Minister?

 Lord Wallace of Saltaire: I have to admit that that was not in my brief. Perhaps I might add that Spencer Perceval was, like Wilberforce, an evangelical, and having read a little about him, I have to say that he was something of a prig. Included within his entry in the Dictionary of National Biography is the fact that in 1800 he wrote a pamphlet on Biblical prophecy in which he referred to the French Revolution as,

“a divine instrument destined to destroy popish superstitions”,

and identified Napoleon Bonaparte as the woman in Revelation, chapter 17,

“who [sits] upon a … beast … the mother of harlots … drunken with the blood of the saints”.

 Lord West of Spithead: My Lords, does the Minister agree that a suitable memorial to the 23,000 Royal Navy sailors who died stopping the slave trade might be more warships for the Royal Navy?

 Lord Wallace of Saltaire: I note that the noble Lord makes a very strong point, which I have no doubt he will make again on a number of occasions.

Baroness Benjamin: My Lords, if the ghost of Spencer Perceval was to pass through this Chamber today, surely the question he would ask is, “Why, 200 years after my assassination, are not just slavery but discrimination and racism so rampant, and what is being done to eradicate them from society?” In honour of Spencer Perceval, therefore, will my noble friend tell the House how determined the Government are to completely wipe out this evil practice that affects certain parts of our society today who feel excluded?

 Lord Wallace of Saltaire: My Lords, it might be beyond the capacity of government in an open society completely to eradicate all forms of prejudice. The Government are actively aware of the problems of the trafficking of women and children. Going around Yorkshire, I am aware that one of the things that the police come across, for example, is Vietnamese children trafficked into Britain to tend illegal cannabis factories. The trafficking of Nigerian children is also a problem. We are working closely with the authorities in a number of other countries. The Government and the relevant agencies have close liaison with their Chinese opposite numbers to combat Chinese people-smuggling. We are working as actively as we can.

 Lord Foulkes of Cumnock: As far as I know, I am not descended either from Spencer Perceval or, thankfully, his assassin. On the more serious matter of anniversaries, I congratulate the Government on agreeing to support the 800th anniversary of the signing of the Magna Carta in 2015. Will they seriously also consider supporting the centenary of the start of the Great War in 2014 rather than the Battle of Bannockburn, which some people north of the border want to celebrate? I believe that it would be better to celebrate what Scots soldiers did to bring freedom to the whole of the United Kingdom.

 Lord Wallace of Saltaire: My Lords, the question of which anniversaries we celebrate, particularly battles, is very sensitive. If any Members of this House find themselves in the Palace of Versailles, I recommend that they visit the Galerie des Batailles. It is a wonderful wing above the Congress room in which the two Chambers of the French Parliament met that celebrates French victories between, I think, the seventh century and 1813. It contains information on a large number of battles about which we were never told and on a very few battles about which we were told.

 Baroness Butler-Sloss: My Lords, I congratulate the Government on their White Paper on human trafficking. However, is the Minister aware that a large number of men are trafficked both by debt bondage and by labour exploitation? They include not only those coming into this country but those being taken out of this country, particularly to Sweden.

 Lord Wallace of Saltaire: I am aware that a number of men are trafficked. The figures I have suggest that the number is considerably smaller than that for women or children. I will check and will write to the noble Baroness if she thinks that my figures are wrong.

Written (Home Office)

 19 Apr 2012 : Column 459W

Human Trafficking

 Fiona Mactaggart: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will discuss with her Dutch counterpart the effects of the independent National Rapporteur on Trafficking in Human Beings on the Dutch Government’s human trafficking policies. [103431]

Fiona Mactaggart: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will discuss with (a) her Finnish counterpart and (b) the Finnish Ombudsman for Minorities the effects of the independent National Rapporteur on Trafficking in Human Beings on the Finnish Government’s human trafficking policies. [103432]

 Damian Green: Discussions take place at official level on a regular basis between the United Kingdom and other EU member states to exchange national experiences, develop best practice and coordinate efforts across Europe to tackle human trafficking.

Written (Home Office)

 19 Apr 2012 : Column 459W

Human Trafficking Ministerial Group

 Mark Durkan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will place on the agenda of the Inter-Departmental Ministerial Group on Human Trafficking the establishment of an independent National Rapporteur on Human Trafficking. [103329]

Damian Green: The agenda of the most recent meeting of the Group included an item on how it will perform the role of national rapporteur.

Written (Home Office)

 19 Apr 2012 : Column 459W

Human Trafficking: Children

 John Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many British nationals were found to be victims of child trafficking in each year since 2000. [103727]

Damian Green: Since April 2009 a multi-agency framework has been in place for identifying and protecting victims of trafficking called the National Referral Mechanism (NRM). A breakdown of identified numbers of child trafficking victims by nationality can be found on the United Kingdom’s Human Trafficking Centre website at:

http://www.soca.gov.uk/about-soca/about-the-ukhtc

Prior to 1 April 2009, the UK did not have a national system to formally confirm trafficking victim status.

Written (Home Office)

19 Apr 2012 : Column 460W

Interdepartmental Ministerial Group on Human Trafficking

 Andrew Selous: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will place on the agenda of the Inter Departmental Ministerial Group on Human Trafficking and the UK Human Trafficking Centre the extent to which it plans to collect statistics on victims of human trafficking from police, local authorities, non-governmental organisations and churches. [103845]

Damian Green: Through the Officials’ Human Trafficking Strategy Board, the Inter-Departmental Ministerial Group will consider what data are available to fulfil its national rapporteur function.

Written (MoJ)

 18 Apr 2012 : Column 434W

 Anas Sarwar: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice (1) how many prosecutions for human trafficking in Scotland in 2011 led to successful convictions and how many of those convicted were given a custodial sentence; [103479]

(2) how many prosecutions for human trafficking led to successful convictions in England and Wales in 2010-11 and how many of those convicted were given a custodial sentence. [103480]

Mr Blunt: The number of defendants proceeded against at magistrates courts, found guilty and sentenced to immediate custody at all courts for human trafficking offences in England and Wales in 2010 (latest available) can be viewed in the table.

Court proceedings figures given in the table relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences it is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe.

Court proceedings data for Scotland are not held by the Ministry of Justice. Information for Scotland is a matter for the Scottish Executive.

Annual court proceedings data for England and Wales for 2011 are planned for publication on 24 May 2012.

 Written (MoJ)

 18 Apr 2012 : Column 434W

Human Trafficking: Victim Support Schemes

 Michael Connarty: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the (a) nationality and (b) gender was of each suspected victim of human trafficking referred to the Trafficking Victim Support Scheme operated by the Salvation Army in each month of 2012 to date; in which region each of the suspected victims was found; and which agency referred each case to the scheme. [101800]

Mr Blunt: In February 2012 there were 25 referrals to the Government-funded support service for adult victims of human trafficking in England and Wales administered by the Salvation Army. Details are provided as follows.

Written (Home Office)

 16 Apr 2012 : Column 15W

Human Trafficking Ministerial Group

 Fiona Mactaggart: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans she has to ensure that the first report of the Inter-Departmental Ministerial Group on Human Trafficking will be debated in Parliament. [102311]

Damian Green: The Government will publish the report and look to have it debated in Parliament, subject to the availability of parliamentary time.

Written (Home Office)

 22 Mar 2012 : Column 815W

Human Trafficking Ministerial Group

 Mr MacShane: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which Ministers are on the Interdepartmental Ministerial Group on Human Trafficking. [101477]

 Damian Green: The inter departmental ministerial group is comprised of the following Ministers:

Damian Green, Minister of State for Immigration, Home Office;

Lynne Featherstone, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Equalities and Criminal Information, Home Office;

Crispin Blunt, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Prisons and Probation), Ministry of Justice;

Tim Loughton, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Education;

Anne Milton, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Public Health, Department of Health;

Norman Lamb, Minister for Employment Relations, Customer and Postal Affairs, Department for Business Innovation and Skills;

Chris Grayling, Minister for Employment, Department for Work and Pensions;

Baroness Hanham, Department for Communities and Local Government;

Stephen O’Brien, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for International Development, Department for International Development;

Jeremy Brown, Minister of State, Foreign Commonwealth Office;

Kenny MacAskill, Cabinet Secretary for Justice, Scotland;

Carl Sargeant, Minister for Local Government and Communities, Wales;

David Ford, Minister of Justice, Northern Ireland;

Edward Gamier, Solicitor-General.

 Written (Home Office)

 22 Mar 2012 : Column 815W

 Mr MacShane: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department on what dates the Interdepartmental Ministerial Group on Human Trafficking has met since May 2010. [101478]

 Damian Green: The Interdepartmental Ministerial Group on Human Trafficking met on 17 February 2011 and 11 October 2011. It is scheduled to meet again in April 2012.

Written (Home Office)

 20 Mar 2012 : Column 664W

Human Trafficking

 Anas Sarwar: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people her Department estimates were (a) trafficked and (b) prosecuted for trafficking last year in (i) the UK, (ii) Scotland and (iii) Glasgow. [100756]

 Damian Green[holding answer 19 March 2012]: No estimate has been made in 2011 of the number of people who were trafficked in the UK, Scotland or Glasgow.

The most recent prosecutions data held for human trafficking offences shows that in 2010-11 there were 177 prosecutions in England and Wales and, in 2011, four prosecutions in Glasgow, Scotland. The Home Office does not hold specific data for Northern Ireland.

 Written (Home Office)

 20 Mar 2012 : Column 664W

Human Trafficking: Scotland

 Anas Sarwar: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when officials in her Department spoke to their Scottish counterparts regarding human trafficking in each of the last five years. [100757]

 Damian Green[holding answer 19 March 2012]: Home Office officials are, and have been, in regular contact with their Scottish counterparts on human trafficking during the last five years.

Written (Solicitor General)

 19 Mar 2012 : Column 438W

Human Trafficking

 Mr Bone: To ask the Attorney-General what recent discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for the Home Department on reviewing laws relating to human trafficking. [100828]

 The Solicitor-General: The Law Officers meet regularly with Ministers from the Home Department to discuss a range of issues, including human trafficking. The Home Office recently led a review of legislation relating to human trafficking and consulted the Law Officers and the Crown Prosecution Service about proposed amendments to offences. The Protection of Freedoms Bill contains the current proposed amendments.

Written (FCO)

19 Mar 2012 : Column 472W

Burma

 Valerie Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what account he is taking of the use of forced labour in Burma in his negotiations over the revision of the EU Common Decision on Burma. [100315]

 Mr Jeremy Browne: In recent months there has been significant progress made with regards to labour rights in Burma, not least the Labour Organisations Bill that came into force on 9 March which allows the free formation of workers organisations. However the use of forced labour, particularly in conflict areas, remains a serious concern.

The International Labour Organisation and Burmese Government are planning to increase their level of co-operation and plan to put in place a comprehensive strategy that aims to tackle forced labour—both civilian and military—by 2015.

This will involve setting up a joint working group with Burmese authorities to deepen co-operation on several issues, including forced recruitment, under-aged recruitment, human trafficking, forced child labour, forced labour in the private sector, use of conflict porters, and forced labour associated with land confiscation.

The resolution of these issues forms part of a broader agenda of reconciliation with ethnic groups on which the UK expects the Burmese authorities to have made progress before we can consider lifting EU restrictive measures. However, we are cautiously encouraged by the developments we are now seeing. We hope this process will continue to address what are extremely serious issues, and make a positive difference to the people of Burma. We shall stay in close contact with international bodies and local contacts to keep updated on how these policies are implemented.

Written (Home Office)

15 Mar 2012 : Column 372W

Domestic Violence: Human Trafficking

 Sir Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps she plans to take to identify and support victims of trafficking for domestic servitude following changes to the domestic worker visa. [99932]

 Damian Green: The National Referral Mechanism (NRM) for the identification and support of victims of trafficking was introduced on 1 April 2009. Persons, including overseas domestic workers, who believe they are a victim or potential victim of trafficking for sexual exploitation, labour exploitation or domestic servitude may seek, and will continue to be able to seek in future, referral to the NRM.

Lords Written (Home Office)

15 Mar 2012 : Column WA113

People Trafficking

 Asked by Baroness Goudie

To ask Her Majesty’s Government why they do not keep records of the numbers of victims of trafficking in the United Kingdom who have made successful compensation claims, in the light of the United Kingdom’s status as a signatory to the Council of Europe convention on human trafficking. [HL16185]

 The Minister of State, Ministry of Justice (Lord McNally): Victims of trafficking can receive compensation from a number of different sources and through different legal proceedings. Article 15(3) of the Council of Europe convention on human trafficking requires the United Kingdom to provide a right to seek compensation from perpetrators. This can be ordered by the courts against the perpetrator during a criminal trial, through an application under the Proceeds of Crime Act or through private litigation in tort. We do not currently compile statistics in relation to these awards.

Article 15(4) of the convention requires the state to provide compensation if the offender fails to do so. We provide compensation through the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA). As set out in my Answer of 18 January (column WA 129), the CICA keeps records based on the nature of the victim’s injury, not the nature of the offence that caused it. The Government do not currently see a compelling case for collecting additional data.

Lords Written (Home Office)

 14 Mar 2012 : Column WA78

People Trafficking

 Asked by Baroness Goudie

 To ask Her Majesty’s Government when the Inter-Departmental Ministerial Group on Human Trafficking will publish reports on progress in implementing the strategy to prevent human trafficking.[HL16184]

The Minister of State, Home Office (Lord Henley): A report will be published in autumn 2012.

Asked by Baroness Goudie

 To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will publish the revised terms of reference for the Inter-Departmental Ministerial Group on Human Trafficking.[HL16187]

Lord Henley: Revised terms of reference are being drafted and will be published shortly.

Written (Home Office)

13 Mar 2012 : Column 154W

Human Trafficking

 Tom Blenkinsop: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether she has made an assessment of the effect of appointing an independent national rapporteur on human trafficking on levels of information about human trafficking available to (a) the Government, (b) the UK Border Agency and (c) police forces. [99097]

Damian Green: The Inter-Departmental Ministerial Group on Human Trafficking will be the UK Government’s national rapporteur mechanism. It will assess trends in human trafficking using data provided by the UK Human Trafficking Centre as the central intelligence hub.

Written (Home Office)

13 Mar 2012 : Column 154W

Justin Tomlinson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department in which countries (a) within and (b) outside the European Union the Government funds projects to tackle human trafficking. [99391]

Damian Green: The Department for International Development (DFID) currently funds the Malawi Anti-Child Trafficking project, run by the Salvation Army. This project aims to improve knowledge of and access to rights for children in Malawi who have been trafficked or are vulnerable to being trafficked.

DFID is also currently designing a new South Asia regional programme which will focus especially on reducing trafficking of women and girls in India, Bangladesh and Nepal, focusing on the garment and domestic work sectors.

The UK Human Trafficking Centre (UKHTC), part of the Serious Organised Crime Agency, is working with others on, and partly funding, a UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) led project focused on Nigeria as a source country.

Written (Northern Ireland)

5 Mar 2012 : Column 492W

Human Trafficking

 Mr Bone: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what discussions he has had with the First Minister on the effectiveness of measures to control cross-border human trafficking. [97804]

Mr Paterson: I have had no discussions with the First Minister on this subject. Any matters relating to human trafficking are now devolved and are the responsibility of the Minister of Justice in Northern Ireland who works closely with the Home Office on such matters.

28 Feb 2012 : Column 172

Eradication of Slavery (UK Company Supply Chains)

 Motion for leave to bring in a Bill (Standing Order No. 23)

 Fiona Mactaggart (Slough) (Lab): I beg to move,

That leave be given to bring in a Bill to require retailers and manufacturers in the UK to make annual statements of measures taken by them to eradicate slavery and human trafficking and exploitation from their direct supply chains; to require large retailers and manufacturers to provide customers with information about measures taken by them to eliminate slavery and human trafficking and exploitation; to provide victims of slavery with necessary protections and rights; and for connected purposes.

This House is rightly proud of its contribution to the abolition of the transatlantic slave trade 200 years ago, but a lesson that we need to learn is that we cannot be complacent. It is shocking that in the last quarter of a century the existence of modern forms of slavery has actually grown. From child labourers on west African cocoa farms to Chinese prisoners being exported to the Maldives to build infrastructure projects, slavery is thriving around the world. As consumers, we enjoy the cheap products that forced labour has helped to deliver. The aim of my Bill, which is modelled on legislation already in force in California, is to ensure that consumers know when forced labour has been used to make a product that they buy. Armed with that knowledge, they might well choose an alternative.

The Bill would require large UK manufacturers and retailers to report on the following issues in their annual reports and on their websites. They would have to report on how they verified product supply chains to evaluate and address the risks of human trafficking and slave labour. They would have to describe the audits that they conducted to ensure that suppliers adhered to company standards. They would need to certify, through direct suppliers, that the materials used to make a product were from countries that did not engage in slavery and human trafficking and that complied with anti-trafficking laws. They would have to describe their procedures to ensure that employees and contractors maintained company standards on human trafficking and slavery, and the training on human trafficking that was provided to personnel working in supply chain management, focusing on where the risk was greatest. In addition, my Bill would place a duty on a company that uncovered trafficking or slavery within its supply chain to provide remediation to victims. This could include education for children, or refuge or payment to adult victims.

Clearly, such a range of responsibilities would be a burden on a smaller company, so the reporting requirements of the Bill would apply only to companies that generated sales worldwide of at least £500 million. That stretches from such companies as Ocado to Tesco via brands such as L’Oréal and Imperial Tobacco, and it excludes smaller companies. The burden is not fundamentally a regulatory one; it is a responsibility to report. My belief is that, confronted with knowledge of such a practice within their supply chain, most successful companies would want to drive it out. Customers would also want to choose slavery-free products.

 So what do I mean by slavery and trafficking? In 1930, the International Labour Organisation convention concerning forced and compulsory labour defined slavery in a way that included

“all work or service which is exacted from any person under the menace of any penalty and for which the said person has not offered himself voluntarily.”

This century, the UN protocol on trafficking in persons defines trafficking as “the recruitment…(etc) of persons, by means of the threat or use of force or other forms of coercion…(etc) to achieve the consent of a person having control over another person, for the purpose of exploitation. Exploitation shall include, at a minimum, the exploitation of the prostitution of others or other forms of sexual exploitation, forced labour or services, slavery or practices similar to slavery, servitude or the removal of organs…Most simply, slavery covers anyone who is forced to work without pay, being economically exploited and unable to walk away.”

It is an archaic and demeaning practice, yet as the campaign group Slavery Footprint, which can provide people with a phone app to count how many slaves are working for them, points out, people are made vulnerable to this kind of exploitation by high rates of unemployment, poverty, crime, discrimination, corruption, political conflict or cultural acceptance of practices.

If we all agree that slavery and trafficking are wrong, why has more not been done? I want to recognise that some companies have done good work to eliminate slavery. Let us take chocolate, for instance. In 2001, the global cocoa industry committed to ending child trafficking in its supply chains through the US-based Harkin-Engel protocol, but it worked too slowly. By 2009, it was estimated that there were still more than 1.8 million children working in the cocoa industry, many of them trafficked.

Progress is now being made. As the MP representing Mars chocolate factory in Slough, I am proud to say that in 2009 it committed to certify independently its entire cocoa supply by 2020. Mars launched the first Rainforest Alliance-certified chocolate bar in the UK —Galaxy—in 2010, and will go Fairtrade with Maltesers this summer. I gather from its competitors Nestlé that KitKat is also being certified by UTZ.

John Lewis Partnership is an example of a retail company that is acting. It has explicit requirements in its suppliers’ code of practice, which is available on its website, to prevent the employment of children and the use of forced labour. Many smaller UK companies that supply large companies based in California are already being required to report as part of their supply chain audit.

Not all the Bill’s sponsors, who include 11 Members from six different parties, will share my concern about abuse of the process whereby unemployed people can get work experience in retail stores here in Britain. This can be a great chance to learn about the world of work, but in some cases in my constituency, people have received no training, have been used to substitute for paid labour and face withdrawal of benefits if they discontinue the placement after the first week. The Bill was not designed to address that problem. Indeed, when I conceived it, I thought its application to UK-based companies would not extend beyond parts of the agriculture and food industries that were already regulated by the Gangmasters Licensing Authority. However, if we are not vigilant, exploitation will not be confined to the poorer countries where it thrives most. In enabling public information to be provided, the Bill aims to use the power of the purchaser to prevent slavery and exploitation.

I hope that by raising the issue and debating it, we shall accelerate progress towards the eradication of slavery from the supply chains of every major UK company before the decade is out.

 Question put and agreed to.

 Ordered,

That Fiona Mactaggart, Mr Richard Bacon, Hugh Bayley, Tom Brake, Michael Connarty, Mark Durkan, Jane Ellison, Dr Julian Lewis, Caroline Lucas, Siobhain McDonagh, Jim Shannon and Jim Sheridan present the Bill.

Fiona Mactaggart accordingly presented the Bill.

 Bill read the First time; to be read a Second time on Friday 23 March, and to be printed (Bill 311).

Oral (FCO)

 28 Feb 2012 : Column 133

Human Trafficking

 Justin Tomlinson (North Swindon) (Con): What steps he is taking to work with his EU counterparts on tackling human trafficking. [96688]

 The Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Mr Jeremy Browne): The Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the Home Office work closely with other EU member states to try to prevent human trafficking. Three of the countries recognised in the Government’s human trafficking strategy—Romania, the Czech Republic and Slovakia—are EU member states. We are working with partners in these countries to help to combat trafficking at source.

 Justin Tomlinson: I pay tribute to the Foreign Secretary for his work in raising awareness of modern-day slavery. Given the international nature of human trafficking, what support has the Minister provided to the European Commission-backed project, led by the Human Trafficking Foundation, to set up a parliamentary network on trafficking that aims to promote and strengthen a network of parliamentarians and businesses against trafficking in human beings throughout all EU member states?

 Mr Browne: I share my hon. Friend’s abhorrence of this terrible crime. We are keen to work through the Commission and through other bodies in the European Union, at Parliament-to-Parliament level, and at Government-to-Government level. For example, we share skills, knowledge and experience, and fund projects that help countries to tackle the problem at source.

 Tony Lloyd (Manchester Central) (Lab): The whole House will share the Minister’s abhorrence of this form of modern slavery. Will he give an absolute guarantee that nothing that this Government negotiate at the European level will make it more difficult for women, in particular, who have been trafficked to be given proper refuge in this country and that nothing will give them an incentive to continue in slavery rather than risk being sent back to their country of origin to be re-trafficked?

 Mr Browne: Our intention always is to give paramount importance to the victims of such crime. When we negotiate in the European Union and elsewhere, we try to give those victims the most protection that we can.

Written (Home Office)

 28 Feb 2012 : Column 201W

Human Trafficking

Mr Bone: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities if she will support a public debate on the annual report of the Human Trafficking Centre. [96187]

Damian Green[holding answer 23 February 2012]: The UK Human Trafficking Centre is part of the Serious Organised Crime Agency. It does not produce a separate annual report. Many human trafficking debates already occur within and outside Parliament.

Written (Education)

28 Feb 2012 : Column 281W

Human Trafficking: Curriculum

Mr Bone: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many schools teach pupils about human trafficking. [96502]

Mr Gibb[holding answer 27 February 2012]:Personal, social, health and economic (PSHE) education provides opportunities for schools to teach about human trafficking. In secondary schools pupils are taught ways of recognising and reducing risk, minimising harm and getting help in emergency and risky situations. PSHE education is not compulsory and the Department does not collect information about the topics taught in each school.

Written (Scotland)

23 Feb 2012 : Column 919W

Human Trafficking

Michael Connarty: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what steps he is taking to ensure that the recommendations of the Equality and Human Rights Commission’s Inquiry into Human Trafficking in Scotland are fully considered by both the UK and Scottish governments. [95529]

 David Mundell: The Government are considering the findings of the Equality and Human Rights Commission’s Inquiry into Human Trafficking in Scotland, in line with the ongoing implementation of the Human Trafficking Strategy we launched in July 2011.

Oral (Scotland)

 22 Feb 2012 : Column 857

Human Trafficking

 Michael Connarty (Linlithgow and East Falkirk) (Lab): What steps he is taking to ensure that the findings of the Equality and Human Rights Commission’s inquiry into human trafficking in Scotland are discussed by the relevant officials in England and Wales. [95264]

 The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Scotland (David Mundell): The Government are considering the findings of the Equality and Human Rights Commission’s inquiry into human trafficking in Scotland, in line with the ongoing implementation of the human trafficking strategy we launched in July 2011.

 Michael Connarty: If the Minister had read the inquiry report, he would have seen that its main recommendation is that there should be a new human trafficking Bill for Scotland. I suggest to him that that would solve the problem of implementing the EU human trafficking directive, which we have signed up to, across the UK. I invite him and other interested parties to attend the all-party group on human trafficking next Monday in Room 7 to hear the inquiry being reported on in the House and perhaps take some advice.

 David Mundell: If I am available, I will certainly be delighted to attend.

 Fiona Bruce (Congleton) (Con): Does my right hon. Friend agree that the field of human trafficking, where co-ordination between involved agencies is critical if we are to find real solutions, is yet another practical example of a policy area that is best tackled at UK level?

 David Mundell: I absolutely agree with my hon. Friend that the UK can bring great weight to this issue on behalf of Scotland. It is also an issue where we have been able to work with the Scottish Government, demonstrating that the two Governments can work together on matters of great importance on a day-to-day basis.

Written (Home Office)

20 Feb 2012 : Column 512W

Human Trafficking

 Simon Hart: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps she is taking to tackle human trafficking. [94953]

Damian Green: The Government are implementing their human trafficking strategy, published on 19 July 2011. This focuses on: improving identification and care of victims; enhancing our ability to act early; smarter action at the border; and more coordination of our law enforcement efforts in the UK.

The Home Office is also legislating, where appropriate, to implement the EU directive on trafficking in human beings to ensure compliance by April 2013.

Written (MoJ)

 20 Feb 2012 : Column 512W

Human Trafficking

 Fiona Mactaggart: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many convictions there were for offences related to human trafficking in each year since 2004. [95128]

Mr Blunt: The number of defendants found guilty at all courts for human trafficking in England and Wales, from 2004 to 2010 (latest available) can be viewed in the following table.

Annual court proceedings data for 2011 are planned for publication in May 2012.

 Written (MoJ)

 20 Feb 2012 : Column 613W

Human Trafficking: Victim Support Schemes

Claire Perry: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the (a) nationality and (b) gender was of each suspected victim of trafficking referred to the Trafficking Victim Support scheme operated by the Salvation Army in January 2012; in which region each of the suspected victims was found; and which agency referred each case to the scheme. [95552]

Mr Blunt: In January 2012 there were 27 referrals to the Government-funded support service for adult victims of human trafficking in England and Wales administered by The Salvation Army. Details are provided in the following table. In the interests of victim safety the region in which the victim was encountered is provided rather than the parliamentary constituency.

Written (Olympics)

9 Feb 2012 : Column 374W

Olympic Games 2012: Human Trafficking

Mr Bone: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what discussions he has had with ministerial colleagues on progress on measures to prevent human trafficking at the London 2012 Olympics. [94523]

Hugh Robertson: Regular Olympic intelligence briefings take place between the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport, my right hon. Friend the Member for South West Surrey (Mr Hunt), myself, Home Office Ministers and the Olympic Intelligence Centre, to discuss and review threats to the games, including human trafficking.

Although there is currently no evidence of an increase in human trafficking linked to the games, the Government are aware of the threat, which is real, and will continue to remain vigilant. If intelligence suggests an increased threat, the Government will ensure that the appropriate measures are in place.

Oral (Justice)

7 Feb 2012 : Column 158

Human Trafficking

2. Andrew Selous (South West Bedfordshire) (Con): What steps he is taking to increase the number of convictions for human trafficking. [93672]

The Attorney-General (Mr Dominic Grieve): The Crown Prosecution Service is working with law enforcement agencies and others in the UK, as well as in source countries, to improve the investigation and prosecution of those involved in human trafficking. The CPS is also encouraging victims of human trafficking to support criminal proceedings.

Andrew Selous: To what extent are prosecutors and police alert to the fact that British citizens are being trafficked both within the UK, as was uncovered shockingly in my constituency last September, and from the UK, as we learned earlier this month?

The Attorney-General: We are very much aware that this is a problem, but part of the difficulty is that trafficking for forced labour is notoriously difficult to establish, and often the victims will not come forward. That said, as my hon. Friend will be aware, there is now a national referral mechanism that alerts the police at neighbourhood level, the UK Border Agency, social services and charitable organisations as to how they can pick up such information and feed it into the specialist units of the police, which can then bring in the Crown Prosecution Service to try to deal with those matters.

Kelvin Hopkins (Luton North) (Lab): If the Government are serious about more prosecutions and, indeed, about preventing trafficking, should we not substantially increase the UK Border Agency’s strength, with many more properly based staff so that they can do the job?

The Attorney-General: As the hon. Gentleman will appreciate, with my hat on as superintendent of the Crown Prosecution Service, it would be easy for me to ask for extra resources in all directions outside my own Department, but if he thinks that there are specific instances in which the service may be in some way deficient he should, I suggest, bring them to my attention or to that of my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary. The evidence that I have from the Crown Prosecution Service is that it receives very good co-operation from the agencies with which it deals.

Mr Peter Bone (Wellingborough) (Con): I thought that the Government were carrying out a review of human trafficking sentences, with a view to reporting to Parliament by now on the changes that would make conviction easier. When is that report going to be published?

The Attorney-General: I am not in a position to give my hon. Friend a precise date. What I suggest I do, as he will appreciate that the issue is outside my departmental area, is to write to him when I have ascertained whether we have further detailed information on it.

Chris Bryant (Rhondda) (Lab): Surely we are going to get many more convictions only if there is much more effective co-operation between prosecutors and police in this country and elsewhere. Given that many such gangs are elsewhere in the European Union, is not the European arrest warrant a vital part of the necessary armoury? Will the Attorney-General tell his Back Benchers that he is not going to step outside the European arrest warrant, even if they want to?

The Attorney-General: I have no doubt at all that mechanisms for co-operation throughout the European Union and, indeed, elsewhere can be very useful in the apprehension of criminals, particularly in this field. How that should best be carried out is, if I may say so to the hon. Gentleman, ultimately, I suppose, going to be a matter for this House, if it ever comes up for review.

Written (Justice)

7 Feb 2012 : Column 193W

Human Trafficking

Mr Bone: To ask the Attorney-General when he expects the review by the Crown Prosecution Service of the laws on human trafficking to be published. [94075]

The Solicitor-General: The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) is not reviewing the laws on human trafficking. However, the CPS has been consulted about proposed amendments to human trafficking offences following a review of the legislation led by the Home Office. The proposed amended offences are included in the Protection of Freedoms Bill and should enable the UK to comply with the EU Directive on Human Trafficking. The amendments extend territorial jurisdiction and will make it easier for investigators and prosecutors to prosecute cases of trafficking where the trafficking of victims has taken place anywhere in the world, by a trafficker who is resident in the UK. The amendments will also improve our ability to prosecute those who have trafficked victims within the UK for forced labour and slavery.

Written (Home Office)

7 Feb 2012 : Column 190W

Human Trafficking

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps her Department is taking to reduce human trafficking. [93657]

Damian Green: The Government are implementing their human trafficking strategy, published on 19 July 2011. This focuses on: improving identification and care of victims; enhancing our ability to act early; smarter action at the border; and more co-ordination of our law enforcement efforts in the UK. The Home Office is also legislating, where appropriate, to implement the EU directive on trafficking in human beings to ensure compliance by April 2013.

Oral (Home Office)

6 Feb 2012 : Column 3

Human Trafficking (Child Victims)

2. Mrs Sharon Hodgson (Washington and Sunderland West) (Lab): What steps she plans to take to reduce the number of child victims of human trafficking who go missing. [93256]

The Minister for Immigration (Damian Green): The Government’s new missing children and adults strategy provides a core framework for local areas to put in place better arrangements to prevent children and adults from going missing. The strategy highlights examples of good practice that have reduced the number of missing trafficked children, and we are working to spread that good practice.

Mrs Hodgson: Does the Minister agree with ECPAT UK that the provision of an appointed guardian would ensure that child victims of trafficking would receive all the support that they needed, and that that would vastly reduce the number of children who are going missing? If he does agree with that, why are the Government still refusing to legislate on guardianship, despite such legislation having been called for in an EU directive and by many child welfare groups?

Damian Green: I do not think that making statutory provision for adding a guardian is necessary, because every looked-after child is already allocated a social worker and an independent reviewing officer, and is provided with access to an advocate. Those children are therefore already given a considerable amount of support. Also, in factual terms, the number of such children who are going missing, while still too high, is considerably lower than it was a few years ago. Local authorities are therefore getting to grips with that underlying problem as well.

Mr Peter Bone (Wellingborough) (Con): I haven’t the foggiest idea how the Minister can say that, because local authorities do not identify trafficked children. I have the greatest respect for what he is doing in regard to trafficked children, but this is none the less the biggest hole in the Government’s strategy. Child victims of human trafficking are looked after less well than adult victims. That cannot be right, and it has to be changed.

Damian Green: Let me explain to my hon. Friend how I arrived at those figures. They are not my figures; they are figures from the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre, a body that is specifically involved in the protection of children. It said that, in 2007, 55% of such children went missing from care. That was an appalling figure, but it has most recently come down to 18%. I agree with my hon. Friend that that is still far too high, but he can see that local authorities are making considerable progress. In that respect, I particularly commend Hillingdon council, which is one of the most experienced councils in this regard, as it covers Heathrow. In 2009, 12% of unaccompanied children were going missing from its care; it has now reduced that number to 4%.

Chris Bryant (Rhondda) (Lab): Tackling human trafficking undoubtedly requires strong international organisations and, in some cases, an international power of arrest to apprehend these criminals. Will the Minister answer a very simple question? Will he guarantee that he, unlike many of his party’s Back-Bench Members who have called for it, will not withdraw from the European arrest warrant—yes or no?

6 Feb 2012 : Column 4

Damian Green: I commend the hon. Gentleman’s ingenuity in putting that question. As he will recognise, the vast majority of trafficking comes from outside the European Union, so his question, though ingenious, is not strictly relevant.

Henry Smith (Crawley) (Con): What specific support can be given to local authorities with children’s services responsibilities that have major ports, such as Gatwick airport in West Sussex, within their boundaries, particularly with respect to supporting 16 to 18-year-olds who are so often those who go missing?

Damian Green: My hon. Friend makes a good point in that local authorities that have major ports within them tend, obviously, to face bigger problems with trafficked children but also tend to develop greater expertise as well. That is why bodies like CEOP and the United Kingdom Border Agency do their best to spread best practice around the country so that every local authority can know that it is performing as well as possible in this important area—

Mr Speaker: Order. We are grateful to the Minister.

Ann Coffey (Stockport) (Lab): Does the Minister agree that if we are to prevent children from being trafficked within the UK, local agencies and parents need to be more aware of the early symptoms of sexual grooming, including repeated missing episodes? What more can he do to raise such awareness?

Damian Green: I agree completely, and I know the hon. Lady rightly takes a great interest in this area. As I say, it is a question of spreading best practice around all the agencies—not just local authorities but the police as well. We try hard to ensure that all police forces are much more aware of the specific symptoms of these types of problem so that they can treat anyone affected in the appropriate way.

Oral (Home Office)

6 Feb 2012 : Column 15

Human Trafficking

15. Fiona Mactaggart (Slough) (Lab): What steps the police are taking to tackle human trafficking; and if she will make a statement. [93270]

The Minister for Immigration (Damian Green): Police forces deal with trafficking as part of core business. Every one of the UK’s 55 police forces has had an investigator trained in running human trafficking operations, and human trafficking is now part of mandatory training for all new police officers.

Fiona Mactaggart: Does the Minister accept that targeted police operations such as Golf and Pentameter led to some 1,000 arrests under the previous Government? His human trafficking strategy has no targets for police operations, apart from reporting that the National Crime Agency will lead to better co-ordination. Does that mean we will have to wait until 2013 and after the Olympics for effective police action against trafficking?

Damian Green: No. Moving on from only targeted operations to making anti-trafficking measures part of core police business was absolutely right and something I imagine the hon. Lady’s party would have wanted to do if it had stayed in office. She will be aware, I am sure,

of the importance of the “Blue Blindfold” awareness-raising campaign, which has now been spread to all police forces, and “Stop the Traffik” cards have been issued to 10,000 front-line neighbourhood police officers. That kind of practical action will make anti-trafficking measures by the police much more effective and widespread.

Written (Home Office)

6 Feb 2012 : Column 92W

Domestic Service

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans she has to improve the protection of overseas domestic workers in the UK; and if she will make a statement. [93245]

Damian Green: The Government’s consultation on employment-related settlement, Tier 5 and Overseas Domestic Workers (ODWs) included proposals about the routes of entry for ODWs. We are considering future policy for ODWs in light of the outcome of the consultation and will make an announcement shortly.

We recognise that ODWs can be vulnerable to serious mistreatment and acknowledged this in the consultation. If the route is retained, we will ensure that there are appropriate protections to minimise the potential for abuse and to support ODWs who may be abused in the UK.

Written (DfID)

2 Feb 2012 : Column 781W

Human Trafficking: Victims

Mr Bone: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what funding his Department provides to victims of human trafficking who are returned to their home country. [93138]

Mr O’Brien: The Department for International Development (DFID) does not currently provide direct support to victims of human trafficking who are returned from the UK to their home country. DFID officials are discussing this issue with Home Office officials.

DFID does support a range of projects which are tackling human trafficking in developing countries. For example, we are supporting a new regional anti-trafficking project in South Asia, focusing especially on labour migration of women and girls in the garment and domestic sectors in India, Bangladesh and Nepal. The programme aims to reduce trafficking of 60,000 women and girls in these sectors over four years.

Oral (Topical)

31 Jan 2012 : Column 673

T9. [92504] Mr Peter Bone (Wellingborough) (Con): This splendid Conservative-led coalition Government have done much in the fight against human trafficking. The poor women who are victims of human trafficking and sexual exploitation and who are then rescued go into the national referral mechanism, but what happens to them after 45 days? Are they thrown out if they do not qualify?

The Minister for Policing and Criminal Justice (Nick Herbert): No, I am happy to reassure my hon. Friend that that is certainly not the case. There is an ongoing process of assessment and support during the 45-day period, after which victims continue to receive support as necessary in Salvation Army outreach centres or from mainstream services. We are determined to improve the service provided to victims of these appalling crimes and have protected funding in order to do so.

Fiona Mactaggart (Slough) (Lab): John Anslow is the first category A prisoner to escape for 17 years. Does the Secretary of State know why?

Mr Blunt: The matter is understandably being inquired into, and in due course we will report back.

Written (FCO)

31 Jan 2012 : Column 580W

Human Rights

Mrs Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs who within his Department is leading the review of guidance on security and justice assistance; and what steps he is taking to ensure gender considerations are included in that review. [92684]

Mr Jeremy Browne: The Overseas Security and Justice Assistance (OSJA) guidance focuses on managing the risk of serious violations of human rights that may arise from Her Majesty’s Government’s (HMG’s) security and justice work.

The Guidance refers specifically to sexual violence and human trafficking, issues which affect women and girls in particular, and more broadly, the need to protect and promote women’s rights is mainstreamed throughout the Guidance.

The Human Rights and Democracy Department of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office is leading the internal review of the OSJA Guidance, which will include a review of those elements of the Guidance dealing with gender issues. The review will focus on how the Guidance has been implemented and whether any further changes are needed in order to ensure that the Guidance is effective and user-friendly. The review will also be an opportunity for users of the Guidance to provide feedback on the content of the Guidance, including the extent to which it supports our goal of protecting and promoting women’s rights.

Written (Justice)

31 Jan 2012 : Column 616W

Trafficking Victim Support Scheme

8. Michael Connarty: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what recent representations he has received on the Trafficking Victim Support Scheme; and if he will make a statement. [92480]

Nick Herbert: The Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice, my right hon. and learned Friend the Member for Rushcliffe (Mr Clarke), has received no recent representations on the Trafficking Victim Support Scheme. Victim care remains fundamental to the Government’s comprehensive approach to combating human trafficking.

Written Lords (Education)

31 Jan 2012 : Column WA322

People Trafficking

Question

Asked by Lord McColl of Dulwich

To ask Her Majesty’s Government from which local authorities children suspected of being trafficked have gone missing in each of the last five years; whether voluntary sector guardians were working with the children suspected of being trafficked in any of those local authorities; and what follow-up inspections or other actions have taken place in local authorities where children suspected of being trafficked have gone missing.[HL15090]

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Schools (Lord Hill of Oareford): While information on the number of children who go missing from their care placements for more than 24 hours is collected, information on whether a looked-after child has been the victim of human trafficking and gone missing from care is not collected centrally.

Local authorities have an overall statutory duty for the safeguarding of children. This includes preventing and mitigating the risk of them going missing from care. Local authorities work in close co-operation with the police and the UK Border Agency to support, and provide protection for, potentially trafficked children. This will involve assessing their needs and putting in place support packages. Where a child does become looked after, local authorities must allocate that child a social worker. They will then draw up a care plan which sets out how the authority intends to respond to the full range of the child’s needs, including the need to safeguard them from contact with traffickers.

The plan will also include arrangements to be followed if the young person goes missing. The National Minimum Standards for Children’s Homes and Fostering Services require all homes and fostering services to have explicit procedures to be followed when looked after children are missing or absent. Statutory Guidance on Children who Runaway and Go Missing from Home and Care issued in July 2009 requires local authorities to collect information on missing from care incidents. Local authorities should make regular reports to council members with responsibility for corporate parenting on patterns of children going missing from care.

Written (Justice)

30 Jan 2012 : Column 509W

Prostitution

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice (1) how many people have been charged with (a) control for gain of prostitution and (b) other offences related to trafficking in the London area since Specialist Crime Division 9 in the Metropolitan Police was created; [91983]

(2) how many prosecutions there have been for trafficking-related offences in the London area since Specialist Crime Division 9 in the Metropolitan Police was created. [91984]

Mr Blunt: Defendants proceeded against at magistrates courts, in the Metropolitan Police force area, for human trafficking offences, from 1 April (when Specialist Crime Directorate 9 was created) to 31 December 2010 (latest available) can be viewed in the table.

Data provided may or may not have resulted from operations conducted by the Specialist Crime Directorate 9.

Annual court proceedings data for 2011 will be available in May 2012.

Written (Justice)

25 Jan 2012 : Column 289W

Human Trafficking: Victim Support Schemes

Justin Tomlinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the (a) nationality and (b) gender is of each suspected victim of trafficking referred to the Trafficking Victim Support scheme operated by the Salvation Army in November 2011; in which region each of the suspected victims was found; and which agency referred each case to the scheme. [91504]

Mr Blunt: In November 2011 there were 44 referrals to the Government-funded support service for adult victims of human trafficking in England and Wales administered by The Salvation Army. Details are provided in the following table.

Written (Home Office)

24 Jan 2012 : Column 147W

Human Trafficking: Repatriation

Mr Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will make it her policy to provide financial support to victims of human trafficking who wish to return to their country of origin. [91525]

Damian Green: The Government’s Assisted Voluntary Returns for Irregular Migrants (AVRIM) programme is available to non-European economic area (EEA) victims of trafficking in the UK. This programme is run in partnership with the Choices service of Refugee Action.

The AVRIM scheme can provide support in acquiring travel documentation, a flight to their country of origin and onward domestic transport, and airport assistance at departure and arrival airports. In some cases, Choices will arrange referral to appropriate partners in the country of origin. Victims may also be eligible for reintegration assistance of up to £1,000.

The Voluntary Assisted Return and Reintegration Programme (VARRP), also run in partnership with Choices, offers assistance to eligible non-EEA victims who have raised trafficking as part of an asylum claim and want to return permanently to their country of origin.

Assistance is also available under the Assisted Voluntary Return for Families and Children (AVRFC) programme where the victim is an unaccompanied child or part of a defined family unit in the UK with at least one child.

Further details can be found on the UK Border Agency website at:

http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/sitecontent/documents/policyandlaw/modernised/returns/assisted-voluntary-returns.pdf?view=Binary

Written (Justice)

24 Jan 2012 : Column 219W

Human Trafficking: Victim Support Schemes

Mr Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what support he is giving to the Salvation Army’s Trafficking Victim Support Scheme. [91526]

Mr Blunt: Between them the Ministry of Justice and Home Office are providing the Salvation Army with £2 million funding per year to co-ordinate the provision of support services for victims of human trafficking.

The Ministry of Justice is working closely with the Salvation Army, with which it has a contract which came in to force last July, to ensure that victims of human trafficking receive the support they need.

Written (Northern Ireland)

20 Jan 2012 : Column 1013W

Human Trafficking

Mr Bone: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what assessment he has made of human trafficking from and into Northern Ireland. [91159]

Mr Paterson: Following the devolution of policing and justice functions in April 2010, matters relating to human trafficking are now devolved and are the responsibility of the Minister of Justice in Northern Ireland. You may wish to approach him directly on this matter.

Oral (Wales)

18 Jan 2012 : Column 736

Human Trafficking

6. Mr Peter Bone (Wellingborough) (Con): What discussions she has had with the First Minister for Wales on cross-border human trafficking. [89237]

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Wales (Mr David Jones): The Secretary of State met the anti-human trafficking co-ordinator for Wales in December. Combating human trafficking is a key priority for the Government and we fully recognise the importance of tackling the issue in Wales.

Mr Bone: I thank the Minister for that answer. Of course, Bob Tooby is the tsar for human trafficking in Wales. He has warned of the problem of internal trafficking, both into Wales and out of Wales. Can this House learn something from Wales? Will the Minister recommend to the Prime Minister that we have a similar tsar for the rest of the United Kingdom?

Mr Jones: The Government are very supportive of the Welsh Government’s introduction of the anti-human trafficking co-ordinator for Wales. He works closely with the UK Human Trafficking Centre and I am sure that he will make his own strong representations in that regard.

Hywel Williams (Arfon) (PC): Does the Minister accept that there has long been concern about the staffing levels at Holyhead, which is the premier port between Ireland and Wales, and between Ireland and the UK? Will he assure the House that immigration and security staffing levels will be maintained at a proper level?

Mr Jones: The hon. Gentleman makes an important point, which I raised in opposition. Holyhead is an extremely important port and the Wales Office co-ordinates closely with the Home Office on that issue.

Written (Justice)

18 Jan 2012 : Column 860W

Human Trafficking: Victim Support Schemes

Mr Binley: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the (a) nationality and (b) gender was of each suspected victim of trafficking referred to the Trafficking Victim Support Scheme in December 2011; in which constituency each such suspected victim was found; which agency referred each case; and if he will make a statement. [90131]

Mr Blunt: In December 2011 there were 21 referrals to the Government-funded support service for adult victims of human trafficking in England and Wales administered by The Salvation Army. Details are provided in the following table. In the interests of victim safety the region in which the victim was encountered is provided rather than the parliamentary constituency.

Written Lords (Home Office)

18 Jan 2012 : Column WA129

Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme

Questions

Asked by Baroness Goudie

To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many victims of human trafficking have (1) successfully, and (2) unsuccessfully, made compensation claims using the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme. [HL14681]

The Minister of State, Ministry of Justice (Lord McNally): The Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA) does not have figures for this. Compensation for victims of violent crime is based on the injuries people sustain, not the particular crimes of which they were a victim. The injuries for which CICA can compensate, and therefore provide reliable figures, are set out in the tariff of injuries in the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme (2008), but the tariff does not contain any injuries specific to human trafficking.

Asked by Baroness Goudie

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they intend to take to ensure that victims of human trafficking who wish to claim compensation via the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme are granted leave to remain in the United Kingdom.[HL14682]

The Minister of State, Home Office (Lord Henley): Victims do not need to be resident in the UK to make an application under the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme.

Victims who are co-operating in a criminal investigation will be granted an extendable 12 months leave at the request of the lead police investigator. Personal circumstances that may require a grant of leave, such as pursuing claims for compensation through the civil courts, are considered in line with the UK’s domestic and international obligations.

Oral (Wales)

18 Jan 2012 : Column 736

Human Trafficking

6. Mr Peter Bone (Wellingborough) (Con): What discussions she has had with the First Minister for Wales on cross-border human trafficking. [89237]

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Wales (Mr David Jones): The Secretary of State met the anti-human trafficking co-ordinator for Wales in December. Combating human trafficking is a key priority for the Government and we fully recognise the importance of tackling the issue in Wales.

Mr Bone: I thank the Minister for that answer. Of course, Bob Tooby is the tsar for human trafficking in Wales. He has warned of the problem of internal trafficking, both into Wales and out of Wales. Can this House learn something from Wales? Will the Minister recommend to the Prime Minister that we have a similar tsar for the rest of the United Kingdom?

Mr Jones: The Government are very supportive of the Welsh Government’s introduction of the anti-human trafficking co-ordinator for Wales. He works closely with the UK Human Trafficking Centre and I am sure that he will make his own strong representations in that regard.

Hywel Williams (Arfon) (PC): Does the Minister accept that there has long been concern about the staffing levels at Holyhead, which is the premier port between Ireland and Wales, and between Ireland and the UK? Will he assure the House that immigration and security staffing levels will be maintained at a proper level?

Mr Jones: The hon. Gentleman makes an important point, which I raised in opposition. Holyhead is an extremely important port and the Wales Office co-ordinates closely with the Home Office on that issue.

Written (Justice)

18 Jan 2012 : Column 860W

Human Trafficking: Victim Support Schemes

Mr Binley: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the (a) nationality and (b) gender was of each suspected victim of trafficking referred to the Trafficking Victim Support Scheme in December 2011; in which constituency each such suspected victim was found; which agency referred each case; and if he will make a statement. [90131]

Mr Blunt: In December 2011 there were 21 referrals to the Government-funded support service for adult victims of human trafficking in England and Wales administered by The Salvation Army. Details are provided in the following table. In the interests of victim safety the region in which the victim was encountered is provided rather than the parliamentary constituency.

Oral (Topical FCO)

17 Jan 2012 : Column 611

T3. [89832] Mr Peter Bone (Wellingborough) (Con): Under the Government’s excellent new human trafficking strategy, the Foreign Office is required to have country business plans obliging ambassadors and high commissioners to take appropriate local action against human trafficking. What action has been taken?

Mr Hague: My hon. Friend is quite right to raise this matter. We have highlighted to our posts around the world the key commitments in the human trafficking strategy that they can help to deliver. Those include engaging with foreign Governments to ensure that common challenges are identified, and encouraging them to work with us to address those challenges. We have asked each of our posts to identify a single point of contact on human trafficking, and we are working in consultation with colleagues across government and with non-governmental organisations to bring together all the work that is already going on, including on the specific local challenges in each country. He can therefore be assured that our posts across the world are working hard on this.

Written (Health)

17 Jan 2012 : Column 766W

Health Services: Human Trafficking

Mr Bone: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what guidance is provided to NHS staff on recognising potential victims of human trafficking. [89507]

Anne Milton: The Government published their Human Trafficking Strategy “Human Trafficking—The Government’s Strategy” in July 2011. It contains

commitments, that will help support frontline staff, including healthcare professionals, to improve victim care as well as enhance their ability to respond early, or even before harm has occurred.

Multi-agency guidance for all frontline practitioners on meeting the needs of trafficked people was issued in October 2009. The “Trafficking Toolkit: Tackling Trafficking” includes a specific section frontline health practitioners on how to identify and respond to the needs of trafficking victims more effectively, including those that might not present immediately.

Oral (Education)

16 Jan 2012 : Column 460

Human Trafficking

8. Mr Peter Bone (Wellingborough) (Con): What steps his Department is taking to raise awareness in schools of domestic and international human trafficking. [89254]

The Minister for Further Education, Skills and Lifelong Learning (Mr John Hayes): Tackling human trafficking is a key priority for the Government. Last October the Department for Education and the Home Office issued updated practical guidance on safeguarding children who may have been trafficked. This will help practitioners, including school staff, identify children who may have been trafficked and find support and advice. Schools may also cover human trafficking within personal, social, health and economic education if they judge that topic to be relevant to their circumstances.

Mr Bone: I congratulate the Government on what they have done so far, but there are a number of non-governmental organisations and charities which would like to go into schools to make pupils aware of human trafficking, the evil of modern-day slavery, and particularly internal trafficking within the United Kingdom. Would the Minister welcome such moves?

Mr Hayes: My hon. Friend has a noble record on this subject, as co-chairman of the all-party group alongside the hon. Members for Slough (Fiona Mactaggart) and for Liverpool, Riverside (Mrs Ellman), and the former Member, Mr Anthony Steen. My hon. Friend’s suggestion is most welcome. He is right. I wrote in 1998 that there is no doubt that human trafficking is today’s slave trade and that we will not rest until it is dealt with. I will write to charities as my hon. Friend suggests and invite them to do precisely what he proposes.

Mr Speaker: I am sure we would all in any case have remembered the precise phrasing of what the Minister of State wrote in 1998, and I cannot imagine why he would suppose otherwise.

Lisa Nandy (Wigan) (Lab): Despite efforts to improve awareness, many trafficked children still wrongly believe that their trafficker is their friend. Given that the Minister has rejected the idea of guardianship for trafficked children, can he tell me who is able to instruct a child’s lawyer in cases where the child is too young, too confused, too traumatised or too afraid to do so themselves?

Mr Hayes: The hon. Lady will know that local authorities retain their responsibilities in this regard and, indeed, allocate a responsible person to deal with such children. I am aware of continuing doubts and problems concerning children being re-trafficked. Indeed, my hon. Friend the Member for Wellingborough (Mr Bone)—he was too polite to mention this—wrote to the Secretary of State on this subject only a couple of days ago. We will look closely at bringing what the Department does into line with Home Office and local authority practice. We should not rest until this matter is addressed, and we will not rest until children are freed, victims are protected and those who trade in pain and persecution are made to suffer.

Written (Home Office)

16 Jan 2012 : Column 467W

Human Trafficking

Mr Bone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of country business plans in tackling human trafficking. [89333]

Damian Green: Country business plans cover financial years, April to March, and are formally reviewed at the mid-year point (October). Foreign Office posts in priority countries have been asked to ensure that the objectives of the human trafficking strategy are reflected in their business plans and work to do this is currently ongoing.

Written (Home Office)

16 Jan 2012 : Column 467W

Human Trafficking: Sexual Offences

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what reports she has received of (a) attempts by individuals to obtain protection money from women sex workers and (b) women sex workers being threatened with (i) eviction from their premises and (ii) arrest on the grounds that they were working from a brothel. [88793]

Lynne Featherstone: No such reports have been received. We are committed to tackling the harm and exploitation that can be associated with prostitution. Controlling prostitution for gain and blackmail are serious offences to which the police are best placed to respond to at a local level.

The Home Office recently published a Review of Effective Practice in Responding to Prostitution, developed in consultation with the police and partners who support people involved in prostitution. The effective practice is designed to empower local authorities and partners to develop effective local responses to issues related to prostitution, including improving the safety of prostitutes and their confidence to report crimes to the police.

Written (Home Office)

10 Jan 2012: Column 166W

Human Trafficking

Michael Connarty: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department for what reasons she has decided to discontinue the production and publication of a human trafficking strategy jointly with the Scottish Government. [86931]

Damian Green: The UK Government’s Human Trafficking strategy was published on 19 July 2011 and sets out the UK’s response to fighting human trafficking.

The strategy reflects the UK’s intention to work with international partners and to work smarter at the border to prevent traffickers from entering the UK. The strategy also sets out the new victim care arrangements introduced in England and Wales from 1 July 2011. Similar victim care arrangements are already in place in Scotland.

Written (Home Office)

10 Jan 2012 : Column 166W

Human Trafficking: Moldova

Lindsay Roy: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment she has made of the extent of human trafficking between Moldova and the UK. [88352]

Damian Green: Data from the UK Human Trafficking Centre (UKHTC) for the period 1 April 2009 to 30 June 2011 show there have been five referrals where the potential trafficking victim has been identified as Moldovan. A breakdown of referrals to the UKHTC can be found at:

http://www.soca.gov.uk/about-soca/about-the-ukhtc/national-referral-mechanism/statistics

Written (Home Office)

10 Jan 2012 : Column 166W

Human Trafficking: Prosecutions

Justin Tomlinson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people charged with offences related to human trafficking in the last 12 months have subsequently been prosecuted. [88394]

Damian Green: 30 persons were proceeded against at magistrates courts in 2010 (latest available) for human trafficking offences under the Sexual Offences Act 2003 and the Asylum and Immigration (Treatment of Claimants) Act 2004. These figures relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences it is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe.

Charging data are not collated centrally by the Ministry of Justice. Annual court proceedings data for 2011 are planned for publication in the spring of 2012.

Written (Home Office)

10 Jan 2012 : Column 166W

Human Trafficking: Sexual Offences

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people have been charged with (a) trafficking of women prostitute offences and (b) controlling sex workers in the London area since 1 January 2010. [88792]

Damian Green: Charging data are not collated centrally by the Ministry of Justice.

Annual court proceedings data for 2011 are planned for publication in the spring of 2012.

Written (Home Office)

10 Jan 2012 : Column 166W

Human Trafficking: Victims

Justin Tomlinson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people (a) in each age group and (b) of each nationality and country of origin had been identified as victims of trafficking in the latest period for which figures are available. [88395]

Damian Green: The UK Human Trafficking Centre is responsible for collating data on potential human trafficking victims. A breakdown of referrals by age and nationality can be found at:

http://www.soca.gov.uk/about-soca/about-the-ukhtc/national-referral-mechanism/statistics

2011

6 Dec 2011 : Column 205W

Human Trafficking: Northern Ireland

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent assessment she has made of the extent of human trafficking in Northern Ireland. [84850]

Damian Green: During the period 1 April 2009 to 31 March 2011 there were 1,481 referrals to the National Referral Mechanism, of these 35 (2%) related to Northern Ireland and comprised 14 nationalities. 24 of these referrals were from three nationalities: China (17), Nigeria (5) and Romania (2).

Written (Home Office)

5 Dec 2011 : Column 65W

Human Trafficking: Northern Ireland

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent discussions she has had with Ministers in the Northern Ireland Executive and the government of Ireland on human trafficking. [84849]

Damian Green: The Minister of Justice for Northern Ireland, David Ford, is a member of the Inter-Departmental Ministerial Group which I chair to oversee the work of the UK Government on human trafficking. The group last met on 11 October 2011; the Minister for Justice was unable to attend. The group will meet again in April 2012.

5 Dec 2011 : Column 55W

Iraq: Human Trafficking

Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent representations he has made to the Government of Iraq on (a) tackling trafficking for sexual exploitation and (b) providing support to victims of human trafficking. [83997]

Alistair Burt: We have not made specific representations to the Government of Iraq on human trafficking, however, the UK continues to co-ordinate closely with the international community in Iraq on this issue. UK officials regularly attend a ‘Trafficking in Persons’ working group in Baghdad along with officials from the Government of Iraq and international partners. The group has been looking at a draft Iraqi law on Trafficking in Persons, which is expected to be passed in the near future.

More generally, we continue to monitor closely the situation facing women in Iraq. Some of the most vulnerable are those who have been victims of trafficking for sexual exploitation. In the Kurdistan region of Iraq, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office is funding a project providing training for staff working in four shelters which provide protection to vulnerable women, including those who are victims of trafficking.

28 Nov 2011 : Column 669W

Offences Against Children

Lisa Nandy: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development whether his Department includes the (a) sexual exploitation of children, (b) trafficking of children and (c) abuse of children by travelling sex offenders within the definition of violent crime in its Building Stability Overseas strategy. [82312]

Mr Duncan: The Building Stability Overseas Strategy was published jointly by the Ministry of Defence, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the Department for International Development in July, and all three Secretaries of State share responsibility for its implementation.

The strategy acknowledges that conflict and violence can have a particularly devastating impact on the lives of children. It does not attempt to define what constitutes a violent crime. The strategy focuses more on conflict prevention than crime prevention: the latter is dealt with by other Government strategies, for example the Organised Crime Strategy and the Human Trafficking Strategy.

The UK Government are fully committed to the implementation of the UN convention on the rights of the child and takes their obligations under the convention very seriously. We want to continue to make progress in areas that will bring about real improvements to children’s lives, including in fragile and conflict affected countries.

23 Nov 2011 : Column 404W

Human Trafficking: Telephone Services

Amber Rudd: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 7 November 2011, Official Report, column 54W, on human trafficking, what costs were associated with the operation of the Metropolitan Police’s trafficking victim helpline in (a) October 2011 and (b) each financial year since it was created. [81845]

Damian Green: The Metropolitan Police Service’s trafficking free phone line cost £128.40 to install and has been operational since April 2011. The first year costs are currently calculated at £189 or £15.75 per month. Staff costs are nominal. Approximately 40 calls have been received on the line since April, of which five have been confirmed as victims of trafficking and referred into the National Referral Mechanism (NRM).

22 Nov 2011 : Column 152

Training (Nurses and Doctors)

Mr Peter Bone (Wellingborough) (Con): The new Government’s strategy on human trafficking requires the NHS to ensure that victims of human trafficking are recognised in hospitals and reported. One way of doing that is to improve training for nurses. I have just returned from Moldova, where nurses have a course on human trafficking as part of their training, so that they can recognise victims and help them. Is that something that we could incorporate here?

Mr Lansley: I am interested to hear my hon. Friend’s experience. I certainly look forward to hearing more from him about it, and to taking it on board in considering how we respond to those obviously tragic victims.

21 Nov 2011 : Column WA205

People Trafficking

Question

Asked by Lord Sheikh

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what sanctions can be imposed on companies who employ trafficked individuals.[HL12093] 

The Minister of State, Home Office (Lord Henley): If there is sufficient evidence against an individual within a company, that s/he knowingly employed and exploited trafficked victims, those individuals can be prosecuted for offences of human trafficking or conspiracy to commit trafficking offences. The maximum penalty is 14 years’ imprisonment, a fine, or both. Furthermore, if there is evidence that a company has profited from the employment of trafficked individuals, there can be consideration of offences under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 to seize any profits they have made.

If a company in a Gangmasters Licensing Authority-regulated sector has knowingly employed illegal migrants who are victims of trafficking, their licence can be revoked under Gangmasters Licensing legislation. They could also be issued with fines by the UK Border Agency of up to £10,000.

The Gang masters Licensing Act 2004 also creates offences for persons who enter into arrangements under which a gangmaster supplies him/her with workers or services while not under the authority of a licence. The sanction which applies here is a sentence of imprisonment not exceeding 51 weeks, or a fine, or both.

Sanctions for illegal activities including human trafficking can also be imposed on companies by Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) by taxing the income, profits, and gains from human trafficking.

14 Nov 2011 : Column 513W 

Human Trafficking: Children

Mr Hain: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what recent discussions she has had with the Welsh Government on separated and trafficked children in Wales. [80610]

Mr David Jones: The Secretary of State for Wales, my right hon. Friend the Member for Chesham and Amersham (Mrs Gillan), and I have regular discussions with the Welsh Government on a wide range of issues, including the welfare of children in Wales.

We recognise the importance of tackling the issue of separated and trafficked children and we will be meeting with the Anti Human Trafficking Co-ordinator for Wales before the end of the year.

7 Nov 2011 : Column 12

Illegal Immigration (Olympics) 

10. Mark Hendrick (Preston) (Lab/Co-op): What assessment she has made of the potential effects of the London 2012 Olympics on the level of illegal immigration to provide forced labour in the food sector (a) in London and (b) nationwide. [78448]

The Minister for Immigration (Damian Green): I was looking forward to that question as well, Mr Speaker.

The UK Border Agency does not have evidence of an increase in forced labour in the food sector as a result of the forthcoming London 2012 Olympics. However, the agency assesses, remains alert to, and, where appropriate, acts on a wide variety of immigration threats and risks specifically associated with the Olympics.

Mark Hendrick: The Government’s wait-and-see approach is dangerous. When Greece hosted the Olympics in 2004 and Germany held the World cup in 2006, the authorities adopted a forward-thinking strategy that included extra training for police to spot trafficking, and PR campaigns to raise awareness among the public. Will the Government consider adopting a more proactive strategy ahead of the games to ensure that human trafficking does not become part of the London 2012 legacy?

Damian Green: I am very aware of the importance of this issue, and I am happy to assure the hon. Gentleman that a strategy has been in place for some time. For example, the Olympic project team at UKBA has carried out over 8,000 identity assurance checks on contractors and workers on the Olympic site and have arrested 20 people as a result in the current financial year alone. In total, the team have carried out over 60,000 ID assurance checks and made over 300 arrests since 2008. The kind of proactive strategy that the hon. Gentleman wants is very much in operation..

Nicholas Soames (Mid Sussex) (Con) rose—

Mr Speaker: Order. On this question, the wish of the right hon. Gentleman might or might not be satisfied.

Nicholas Soames: Does my hon. Friend agree that in the Olympic year, the work of the border agency will be of the first importance? Does he agree, since the agency is likely to come in for some stick later on this afternoon, that its individual officers do a remarkable, vital and very important job for this country, and that that needs to be officially recognised?

Damian Green rose—

Mr Speaker: Order. The Minister should answer in the context of the London 2010 Olympics, or possibly in the context of forced labour in the food sector, in London or elsewhere.

Damian Green: I completely agree with my right hon. Friend that UKBA officers do a vital job very conscientiously. It is particularly important that they continue to do that and, if possible, to enhance their services in the run-up to the London 2012 Olympics. Part of that will involve ensuring that no abuse occurs in the food industry.

7 Nov 2011 : Column 54W

Human Trafficking

Amber Rudd: To ask the secretary of State for the Home Department how many calls were received by (a) the Metropolitan police’s trafficking victim helpline and (b) the UK Human Trafficking Centre’s victim helpline in October 2011. [78546]

Nick Herbert: The Metropolitan police’s trafficking victim helpline received one call in October 2011.

The UK Human Trafficking Centre (UKHTC) does not have a victim helpline. The public number for the UKHTC is for all inquiries, referrals to the National Referral Mechanism and operational and tactical advice on any human trafficking related matters. A 24/7 tactical advice capability is also available from this number.

Mr Bone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps she has taken to provide safe homes for (a) adult and (b) child victims of human trafficking. [78841]

Damian Green: We have introduced a new model for supporting adult victims of human trafficking in England and Wales, which provides accommodation and support tailored to the needs of individual victims. In its capacity as prime contractor under this new model, the Salvation Army has contracted with various organisations to deliver a range of support to meet the diverse needs of victims. This provision includes safe houses across England and Wales. Local authorities have a statutory duty under the Children Act to safeguard and promote the welfare of any child in need. Each child in local authority care is allocated a social worker who assesses their needs and draws up a care plan which sets out how the authority intends to respond to the full range of the child’s needs.

For children who may have been trafficked, the social worker’s assessment should identify the child’s vulnerability to the continuing control of his or her traffickers. The local authority should then place the child with a carer (foster or residential) who has the necessary skills and experience to support them in a safe environment.

7 Nov 2011 : Column 54W

Human Trafficking: Northern Ireland

Naomi Long: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what discussions she has had with the Northern Ireland Executive on separated and trafficked children in Northern Ireland. [78233]

Damian Green: We work closely with the Northern Ireland Executive to ensure a joined up approach to tackling human trafficking across the UK. The Northern Ireland Executive is a member of the Inter-Departmental Ministerial Group on human trafficking which brings together the devolved Administrations and key departments across government. The group provides oversight of the UK’s anti-trafficking work, including implementation of the Government’s human trafficking strategy and its associated actions in relation to trafficked children.

3 Nov 2011 : Column 704W 

Prostitution: Olympic Games 2012 

Shabana Mahmood: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what discussions she has had with (a) the Metropolitan Police, (b) the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games, (c) local authorities and (d) women’s groups on the prevention of street-based prostitution (i) in advance of and (ii) during the London 2012 Olympics. [78338]

James Brokenshire: I have had no such specific discussions.

Currently, we are not anticipating significant increases in street-based prostitution relating to the Games. Intelligence on human trafficking, including trafficking for the purpose of prostitution, is assessed on a quarterly basis as part of the Olympic Strategic Threat Assessment. It is anticipated that such activity would be the primary cause of any substantive rise in prostitution, and current evidence does not suggest that there is any increase in human trafficking linked to the Olympics at the moment. Despite this, we remain vigilant. We have law enforcement measures in place to deal with any potential increase in the threat. The Human Exploitation and Organised Crime Operational Command Unit of the Metropolitan Police Service are working to disrupt prostitution and recover victims, including victims of trafficking, in the five Olympic boroughs in London. If the evidence indicates an increase in trafficking we shall ensure that appropriate measures are put in place.

This Government are committed to tackling the harm and exploitation to individuals, impact on communities, and links to organised crime, that can be associated with prostitution. We have published a review of effective practice in responding to prostitution, to empower local areas to respond to local issues.

2 Nov 2011 : Column 908

Mr Peter Bone (Wellingborough) (Con): Would the Minister welcome increased Government spending to enable the voluntary sector to deal with human trafficking? If the money went through the Salvation Army, the big society could help all charities to look after victims.

Mr Hurd: My hon. Friend makes a good point, with which I have a great deal of sympathy.

31 Oct 2011 : Column 472W

Developing Countries: Human Trafficking

Mr Bone: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what contribution his Department is making to the prevention of human trafficking in developing countries. [76797]

Mr O’Brien: The Department for International Development (DFID) supports projects in developing countries which specifically aim to reduce human trafficking. We support the Malawi Anti-Child Trafficking Project, which aims to improve knowledge of and access to rights for children in Malawi who have been trafficked or are vulnerable to being trafficked. In Bangladesh we support a Police Reform Programme which has established a Human Trafficking Investigations Unit. In Uganda, we have supported UNICEF to help identify and support trafficked women and children in the northern Karamoja region. DFID is currently developing a new regional anti-trafficking project in South Asia. The programme aims to reduce trafficking of women and girls in the region by 10% over four years. It will focus on trafficking into domestic work and the garment sector.

DFID also works to tackle the underlying factors which put people at risk of becoming victims of human trafficking, such as poverty, lack of education, lack of economic opportunities, vulnerability to economic shocks, and social exclusion.

25 Oct 2011 : Column 162 

Human Trafficking 

7. Mr Peter Bone (Wellingborough) (Con): What recent guidance he has issued to overseas posts on implementing the new Government strategy on human trafficking. [76299]

The Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Mr Jeremy Browne): My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary wrote to all overseas posts on 19 July welcoming the strategy and outlining its aims. We soon expect to finalise with the Home Office the strategy for priority countries. When that process is complete, the Foreign Secretary will write to ambassadors and high commissioners in those countries, instructing them to incorporate trafficking objectives into their work.

Mr Bone: I thank the excellent Minister for that response. Prevention is better than cure. If a young woman is trafficked into this country, she will be rescued, but it is better that she is not trafficked in the first place so that she does not have to suffer modern-day slavery and all that goes with it. It is our ambassadors and delegations abroad who are our first step in warning people of the dangers of trafficking. Does the Minister agree?

Mr Browne: I strongly agree with my hon. Friend. We are working with foreign Governments to build their capacity to disrupt human trafficking—for example, we are working with judges and prosecutors in priority countries to increase prosecutions; we are working with the Serious Organised Crime Agency to prevent trafficking

by building capacity; and we are addressing the root causes by alleviating poverty through our work with the Department for International Development.

Keith Vaz (Leicester East) (Lab): The key necessity is to track down and prosecute those who are responsible for trafficking. Four international organisations are involved: Europol, Interpol, the Southeast European Cooperative Initiative, and the European Union. How are the Government attempting to co-ordinate those organisations?

Mr Browne: I agree that it is desirable to co-ordinate that kind of international work, but we are also working in tandem with countries where our embassies are developing programmes of the type that I have just mentioned. We are not ruling out any ways of trying to achieve our common objectives.
24 Oct 2011 : Column 46W

Human Trafficking 

Emma Reynolds: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what information her Department holds on steps being taken by the police to encourage hotels to assist in identifying perpetrators and victims of human trafficking. [76078]

Damian Green: The Government’s strategy on human trafficking sets out a commitment to exploring what further role the private sector and the public can play in tackling human trafficking.

Combating human trafficking is part of core police business and the steps taken to identify victims and offenders are operational matters for individual police forces. All new police officers receive mandatory training on trafficking and existing officers have access to awareness material.

20 Oct 2011 : Column 1123W

Children: Human Trafficking 

Mr Bone: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what provision his Department has made for education for child victims of human trafficking. [74572]

Tim Loughton [holding answer 17 October 2011]:Under section 11 of the Children Act 2004, local authorities have a statutory duty to ensure that they safeguard and promote the welfare of all children, regardless of their immigration status or nationality. Victims of child trafficking have the same entitlement to education as all other children of compulsory school age. Trafficked children are likely to require additional educational support to help them overcome any barriers to learning and assessment. Schools should consider the specific needs of all children who are newly arrived from overseas, taking account of their cultural, religious and linguistic backgrounds and of their prior learning experiences.

Where a trafficked child becomes looked after, they will be entitled to the same services as all looked after children. They will be allocated a qualified social worker who will arrange for them to be placed in a care placement where they will be safeguarded. The social worker must assess the child’s needs and draw up a care plan which will include plans for accommodation, educational support, and other services based on need (eg health services, which could include specialist treatment because of past experiences or pre-existing medical conditions).
19 Oct 2011 : Column 1016W

Human Trafficking: Victim Support Schemes

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many cases were referred to the Trafficking Victim Support Scheme run by the Salvation Army between (a) 15 and 31 July and (b) 1 and 31 August 2011; and by whom. [73427]

Mr Blunt: The information is as follows:

(a) Between 15 and 31 July, 14 individuals were referred to the Government-funded support service for adult victims of trafficking in England and Wales, which is run by the Salvation Army. The referrals were made by the police, the UK Border Agency, HM Prison Service, charities, and solicitors.

(b) Between 1 and 31 August, 36 individuals were referred. The referrals were made by the police, the UK Border Agency, social services, charities, solicitors and by individual victims (self referral).

Oral (Topical to Sec of State for Health 

18 Oct 2011 : Column 751

T6. [74878] Mr Peter Bone (Wellingborough) (Con): Today is anti-slavery day, and our excellent Prime Minister will be hosting a reception at Downing street tomorrow to promote the new Government anti-trafficking strategy. That strategy includes a requirement for the health service to be proactive in identifying victims of trafficking. What progress has been made on that?

Mr Lansley: I am sure that we all share my hon. Friend’s view of the great importance of this matter. The Department of Health leads on ensuring that health care is available to people who have been rescued by the police from human trafficking. We also lead on promoting an awareness that local government has multi-agency safeguarding processes to assist in supporting people who have been abused and harmed. There is more to say, but I will write to my hon. Friend on the subject.

17 Oct 2011 : Column 673W

Human Trafficking: Victim Support Schemes

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the nationality was of each suspected victim of trafficking referred to the Trafficking Victim Support Scheme run by the Salvation Army between (a) 15 to 31 July and (b) 1 to 31 August 2011; in which region each of the suspected victims was found; and which agency referred each case to the scheme. [73426]

Crispin Blunt: The tables below set out the information requested.

17 Oct 2011 : Column 624W

Human Trafficking

Mr Douglas Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with his (a) Brazilian, (b) Russian, (c) Indian and (d) Chinese counterparts on international trafficking in human beings. [73281]

Mr Hague: The UK has ongoing dialogue on a wide range of bilateral co-operation issues with these countries. Recent dialogues with India, China and Brazil have included discussion of international trafficking in human beings.

13 Oct 2011 : Column 509W

Anti-Slavery Day 2011

Margot James: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what plans his Department has to mark Anti-Slavery Day 2011. [73003]

Mr Blunt: The Government are fully committed to combating human trafficking by tackling organised crime groups and protecting the victims of this modern day slavery.

While the Ministry of Justice has no plans to mark Anti-Slavery Day 2011, the Government as a whole are supporting Anti-Slavery Day 2011 by attending a series of events.

Written (Home Office)

 12 Oct 2011 : Column 375W

Anti-Slavery Day

Claire Perry: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans her Department has to mark Anti-Slavery day 2011. [73447]

Damian Green: The Government are planning to mark Anti-Slavery day 2011 by supporting a range of events, including the launch of a training and referral process for the airline industry with a major UK airline.

Written (DWP) 

12 Oct 2011 : Column 424W

Anti-Slavery Day

Angie Bray: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what plans his Department has to mark Anti-Slavery Day 2011. [72290]

Chris Grayling: The Department for Work and Pensions has no plans to mark Anti-Slavery Day 2011.

11 Oct 2011 : Column WA225

People Trafficking

Question

Asked by Lord Sheikh

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they plan to put measures in place to increase public awareness of human trafficking.[HL12092]

The Minister of State, Home Office (Lord Henley): The Government’s strategy on human trafficking sets out the commitment to explore what further role the public can play in identifying information about trafficking; and to raise awareness and vigilance in particular communities.

The Home Office is working with other government departments and non-governmental organisations to identify what more can be done to increase public awareness of human trafficking, both in the UK and overseas.

11 Oct 2011 : Column 182

Human Trafficking

6. Lisa Nandy (Wigan) (Lab): What recent discussions he has had with the Director of Public Prosecutions on the prosecution of cases involving allegations of human trafficking or slavery. [72849]

7. Michael Connarty (Linlithgow and East Falkirk) (Lab): What plans he has to increase prosecutions of those involved in human trafficking. [72851]

The Attorney-General: I have had no recent discussions with the Director of Public Prosecutions on the prosecution of cases involving human trafficking or slavery. However, the Crown Prosecution Service is working with law enforcement agencies and others, both in the UK and in source countries, to improve the investigation and prosecution of those involved in human trafficking. The CPS is also encouraging victims of human trafficking to support criminal proceedings.

Lisa Nandy: Having worked with the remarkable children caught up in this appalling trade over many years, I can tell the Minister that the most effective way to increase the number of prosecutions is to provide support for victims. Will he mark anti-slavery day by announcing a formal system of child guardianship, so that we no longer have the appalling spectacle of children as young as five having to instruct their own lawyers, simply because there is no one else to do so?

The Attorney-General: The specific matter that the hon. Lady raises is, I am afraid, outside my immediate remit in terms of my responsibilities for the CPS. As she will be aware, the Government announced the decision to opt in to the EU directive on human trafficking in March 2011. We are now working closely with the Commission on its implementation, which includes the review of our domestic legislation to ensure that it complies with the provisions, and that it does not inhibit our ability to bring successful prosecutions. The Government, the CPS and I will continue to give human trafficking a high priority. For those reasons, I hope that the hon. Lady’s point will be given consideration at the same time.

Michael Connarty: I read with interest the CPS report on prosecuting human trafficking cases, and I cannot understand how the Minister can say that the matter is not within his remit, because it quite clearly talks about vulnerable children, the need for adequate support and safeguarding? It is difficult to get prosecutions if those children flee, and we do not know how many are in care or how many are missing. Surely the obvious thing to do would be to have a scheme of guardianship, in which the children are looked after individually. They could then be supported through the process of going to court, so that we can get prosecutions for this heinous crime.

The Attorney-General: I appreciate the hon. Gentleman’s point, and for the reasons that I gave in answer to the hon. Member for Wigan (Lisa Nandy), I can see that it has considerable force, but I do not think that it is the specific responsibility of the CPS to deliver on this. It would require work with other agencies to achieve it and, for those reasons, it is something that I am happy to see taken forward, but it is not something that the CPS on its own can deliver.

Mr Peter Bone (Wellingborough) (Con): The Attorney-General is right that the issue of guardianship is for other parts of the Government. However, he is responsible for sentencing. The Government, in their human trafficking strategy, promised a review by December. Will he update us on how that review is going and congratulate the Prime Minister on marking anti-slavery day by having a reception in Downing street on 19 October?

The Attorney-General: I join my hon. Friend in congratulating the Prime Minister on properly commemorating anti-slavery day. I am afraid, however, that I am not in a position to give my hon. Friend an update. There is a timetable for this report to come out. If I have any further information on the matter, I shall write to him.

Keith Vaz (Leicester East) (Lab): Human trafficking is a crime that crosses borders. What discussions have been held with Europol and Eurojust to try and catch the real perpetrators of this terrible crime?

The Attorney-General: I know that there are frequent discussions between police services and the CPS and its counterparts about co-operation. As the right hon. Gentleman will be aware, the EU directive on human trafficking is designed to provide a measure of co-ordination in this area. I have to say again to him that I would be happy to arrange a briefing for him from either the police or the CPS, if that would be of assistance to him in understanding the details of how that work is carried out. However, I am confident from what I know of the work being done that a high level of co-operation is achieved with our partner countries.

Fiona Mactaggart (Slough) (Lab): The original question was about how the Attorney-General will increase the number of prosecutions. According to an answer that I received not long ago, there have been only six prosecutions for holding someone in slavery since the introduction of that specific offence 17 months ago. What will he do to increase the number of successful prosecutions for holding people in servitude?
11 Oct 2011 : Column 183

The Attorney-General: There has been at least one reference by my office to the Court of Appeal of an unduly lenient sentence in which that sentence has been increased. In addition, I think that the CPS acknowledges that trafficking for forced labour is a particularly difficult area in which to get people to come forward and give evidence. The CPS will therefore continue to work with other agencies, including the police, to try to provide an environment in which that can better happen.

10 Oct 2011 : Column 80W

Human Trafficking

Justin Tomlinson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department in what ways she expects the UK Border Agency to contribute to (a) reducing the number of and (b) identifying victims of human trafficking. [70779]

Damian Green: The UK Border Agency has a vital role to play in disrupting trafficking attempts abroad and detecting trafficking both at the border and within the UK. Border staff are trained in child protection issues and to spot human trafficking; multi-agency child safeguarding and investigation teams are in place at the UK’s major ports; overseas border controls stop criminals and illegal immigrants before they get to the UK; people’s identities are fixed using biometrics; and alerts and intelligence tools are used to give officers the information they need to intervene. The UK Border Agency also supports the Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA) in pursuing organised criminals involved in trafficking.

The UK Border Agency is one of the key agencies involved in the national referral mechanism (NRM), the UK’s framework for identifying and supporting trafficking victims. Together with other front line agencies such as the police, local authorities and voluntary sector organisations, the NRM shares information and expertise that can be used to confirm victim status and ensure appropriate care is provided.

Further details of the UK Border Agency’s contribution can be found in the Government’s strategy on human trafficking, published on 19 July 2011, available at:

www.homeoffice.gov.uk/crime/human-trafficking-strategy

Written (FCO)

10 Oct 2011 : Column 150W

Anti-Slavery Day

Mr Buckland: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what plans his Department has to mark Anti-Slavery Day on 18 October 2011. [72110]

Mr Jeremy Browne: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) has no plans to mark Anti-Slavery Day on 18 October 2011. This event is focused at national level and the Home Office are coordinating how the Government will mark the event.

In terms of international efforts on this important issue that blights the lives of the poorest and most vulnerable in our society, the UK is a strong supporter of anti-slavery efforts. At the UN Human Rights Council in September 2007, the UK set up the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on Contemporary Forms of Slavery, Ms Gulnara Shahinian. Her mandate was renewed by consensus with an increased number of co-sponsors in September 2010. I welcomed Ms Shahinian to the UK on the UN International Day for the Abolition of Slavery on 2 December last year. We remain a strong supporter of her work. The FCO will develop plans to mark this year’s UN International Day for the Abolition of Slavery closer to the time.

Written (Education)

10 Oct 2011 : Column 190W

Anti-Slavery Day

Michael Connarty: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what plans his Department has to mark Anti-Slavery Day 2011. [72087]

Tim Loughton: The Department for Education and the Home Office are marking Anti-Slavery Day with the launch of new guidance entitled ‘Working together to Safeguard children who may have been trafficked’. The guidance will raise awareness of the issues amongst agencies in England who are likely to encounter, or have referred to them, children and young people who may have been trafficked.

The Government are fully committed to combating human trafficking by tackling organised crime groups and protecting the victims of this modern day slavery.

The Government published their strategy on human trafficking on 19 July. The strategy reiterates the UK’s intention to take a comprehensive approach to combating trafficking—both by focusing on tackling traffickers and maintaining effective care for victims.

The strategy also sets out our commitment to raising awareness of trafficking among the public and the private sector. The Government recognise the importance of Anti-Slavery Day as an opportunity to improve understanding and increase vigilance in our communities.

Written (Health)

10 Oct 2011 : Column 291W

Anti-Slavery Day

Amber Rudd: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans his Department has to mark Anti-Slavery day 2011. [72517]

Mr Simon Burns: The Government are planning to mark Anti-Slavery day with a range of events including the launch of a training and referral process for the airline industry with a major United Kingdom airline.

The Government are fully committed to combating human trafficking by tackling organised crime groups and protecting the victims of this modern day slavery.

The Government published their strategy on human trafficking on 19 July. The strategy reiterates the UK’s intention to take a comprehensive approach to combating trafficking—both by focusing on tackling traffickers and maintaining effective care for victims.

The strategy also sets out our commitment to raising awareness of trafficking among the public and the private sector. The Government recognise the importance of Anti-Slavery day as an opportunity to improve understanding and increase vigilance in our communities.

Written (DCMS)

10 Oct 2011 : Column 171W

Anti-Slavery Day

Justin Tomlinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what plans his Department has to mark Anti-Slavery Day in 2011. [72020]

John Penrose: The Government are fully committed to combating human trafficking by tackling organised crime groups and protecting the victims of this modern day slavery.

We published a strategy on human trafficking on 19 July, which reiterates the UK’s intention to take a comprehensive approach to combating trafficking—both by focusing on tackling traffickers and maintaining effective care for victims.

The strategy also sets out our commitment to raising awareness of trafficking among the public and the private sector. The Government recognise the importance of Anti-Slavery Day as an opportunity to improve understanding and increase vigilance in our communities. Accordingly, we are planning to mark Anti-Slavery Day with a range of events including the launch of a training and referral process for the airline industry with a major UK airline.

However, DCMS has no plans to mark Anti-Slavery day itself.

Written (PM)

10 Oct 2011 : Column 63W

Anti-Slavery Day 

Andrew Selous: To ask the Prime Minister what plans he has to mark Anti-Slavery Day. [72191]

The Prime Minister: The Government are fully committed to combating human trafficking by tackling organised crime groups and protecting the victims of this modern day slavery. To mark Anti-Slavery Day I will be hosting a reception at 10 Downing street for individuals and organisations who are involved in work to combat human slavery and trafficking.

13 Sep 2011 : Column 887

Sentencing (Human Trafficking and Drugs Offences)

17. Mr Peter Bone (Wellingborough) (Con): How many prisoners are serving sentences for (a) human trafficking and (b) drug-related offences; and what the average length of sentence is in each case. [71323]

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice (Mr Crispin Blunt): Between 2006 and 2010, 109 people were sentenced for human trafficking offences, with an average determinate custodial sentence length of 50 months, and 254,980 people were sentenced for drug-related offences, with an average determinate custodial sentence length of 32 months. The average determinate custodial sentence length for trafficking for sexual exploitation was 50 months; in the case of trafficking for forced labour, it was 51 months, and in the case of drug trafficking, it was 73.5 months.

Mr Bone: I think that the House will agree that there is a bit of difference between the figures for human trafficking and for drug-related offences, yet the two crimes—human trafficking and drug offences—are very difficult for the victims. We should surely rebalance the criminal justice system to ensure that more traffickers are caught. I know that the Government have produced their human trafficking strategy, but there is a terrible imbalance at the moment.

Mr Blunt: I am grateful to my hon. Friend, and I thank him for his energetic chairmanship of the all-party group on human trafficking, and for continuing to bring the issues to my attention. Trafficking drugs and people are both extremely serious offences, and when people are caught—obviously, we want to make sure that they are, on every conceivable occasion—they should serve an appropriately serious tariff.

Mr Speaker: I am grateful to the Minister both for his succinctness and his control of his breathing, which was impressive.

13 Sep 2011 : Column 1075W

Human Trafficking

Mr Bone: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what discussions he has had with the First Minister on implementing the Government’s new strategy on human trafficking. [71115]

David Mundell: Policy responsibility for human trafficking rests with the Minister for Immigration. Combating human trafficking is a key priority for the Government and we are committed to tackling organised crime groups who profit from this human misery, and to protecting victims. There is an Inter-Departmental Ministerial Group on Human Trafficking to co-ordinate work on trafficking across Government which includes Ministers from the devolved Administrations. The next meeting is scheduled for mid-autumn.

13 Sep 2011 : Column 1111W

Human Trafficking

Mr Bone: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice for which countries his Department has prepared country business plans in relation to human trafficking; and if he will make a statement. [71116]

Damian Green: I have been asked to reply.

The Home Office is currently developing a list of priority countries in relation to human trafficking. As set out in the Government’s strategy on human trafficking, we will work with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office to ensure that the aims of the strategy are included in the Country Business Plans for each of these priority countries.

9 Sep 2011 : Column 850W

Overseas Workers

Mr Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps she plans to take to prevent trafficking of people following the abolition of the overseas domestic services visa; and if she will make a statement. [70811]

Damian Green: Details of the steps the Government are taking to prevent the trafficking of people can be found in its Human Trafficking Strategy, published on 19 July 2011:

www.homeoffice.gov.uk/crime/human-trafficking-strategy

The Government’s consultation, Employment-Related Settlement, Tier 5 and Overseas Domestic Workers, published on 9 June, is open for comment until 9 September. Its proposals on overseas domestic workers include the possible abolition of the route for domestic workers who work in the private household of their employer in the UK. No decision has been made on abolition. We will consider future policy on overseas domestic workers in the light of responses to the consultation.

9 Sep 2011 : Column 849W

Human Trafficking

Justin Tomlinson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps the Government is taking to reduce the difference between the estimated number of victims of human trafficking in the UK and the number of potential victims of human trafficking identified by the National Referral Mechanism. [70906]

Damian Green: Trafficking is by its nature a hidden crime and therefore it is difficult to get a full picture of the numbers involved. Entry to the National Referral Mechanism (NRM) is voluntary so we cannot force those we suspect of being victims to participate against their will. But we are committed to bringing as many victims as possible into the NRM. To do this we continue to raise awareness of trafficking with frontline partners such as the police, local authorities and health service and have recently increased the number of voluntary sector partners who are able to make direct referrals into the NRM. Working in partnership with the UK Border Agency’s audit team and the Strategic Monitoring Group, who are responsible for overseeing the functioning of the NRM, we are also enhancing the way we identify victims of trafficking from those who are referred to us. Details of the steps we are taking can be found in the Government’s Human Trafficking Strategy, published on 19 July 2011:

www.homeoffice.gov.uk/crime/human-trafficking-strategy

8 Sep 2011 : Column WA37

Asked by Lord Hylton

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will take steps to ensure that the national referral mechanism includes in its remit the needs of trafficked persons aged under 18 who reach the United Kingdom.[HL11512]

Baroness Browning: The national referral mechanism (NRM) has since its creation on 1 April 2009 considered trafficked persons aged under 18 as part of its remit. In its first 24 months of operation, almost 400 potential child trafficking cases were referred to expert decision-makers by designated front-line agencies. This has enabled many more child victims than ever before to be identified and receive tailored support. We have recently added Barnardo’s and the NSPCC’s Child Trafficking Advice and Information Line to the list of designated front-line agencies that can refer potentially trafficked children into the NRM which will help ensure child victims are identified and receive that support.

8 Sep 2011 : Column WA37

Asked by Lord Hylton

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will appoint a co-ordinator for victims of human trafficking in each region or jurisdiction of the United Kingdom, tasked with providing specialised services.[HL11514]

Baroness Browning: Support for victims of human trafficking is a devolved matter.

Co-ordination of specialist support for human trafficking victims is already undertaken by the Salvation Army in England and Wales, the Trafficking Awareness Raising Alliance (TARA) Project and Migrant Helpline in Scotland, and Migrant Helpline in Northern Ireland.

8 Sep 2011 : Column WA37

People Trafficking

Questions

Asked by Lord Hylton

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to increase public awareness of the effects of trafficking in people.[HL11511]

The Minister of State, Home Office (Baroness Browning): The Government’s new strategy on human trafficking sets out our commitment to exploring what further role the public can play in identifying information about trafficking and how we can raise public awareness and increase vigilance.

We will continue to work with non-governmental organisations to develop plans to increase public awareness and understanding of human trafficking

8 Sep 2011 : Column WA37

Asked by Lord Hylton

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what proposals they have for making measures to prevent human trafficking equally effective in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.[HL11513]

Baroness Browning: The Government published their UK-wide strategy on human trafficking on 19 July 2011. The strategy has a strong focus on increasing prevention, alongside improving support for victims.

While immigration is a reserved matter, law enforcement is devolved to Scotland and Northern Ireland. Her Majesty’s Government works closely with the Scottish Government, the Northern Ireland Assembly and the Welsh Assembly Government to ensure a joined-up approach to tackling human trafficking across the UK.

8 Sep 2011 : Column WA37

Asked by Lord Hylton

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to prevent increased prostitution before and after the 2012 Olympic Games, including greater human trafficking for sexual exploitation.[HL11515]

Baroness Browning: We are aware that in the run-up to 2012 criminals may seek to profit from the Games by increasing their activities, including in relation to prostitution and trafficking.

We are assessing the threat on a quarterly basis. We will continue to remain vigilant and deploy our resources to tackle trafficking abroad, at the border and in country both before and during the Games.

A specialist unit in the Metropolitan Police has received extra funding from the Migration Impact Fund to prioritise activities to disrupt prostitution and support victims, including victims of human trafficking, in the five Olympic boroughs.

Oral (DCMS)

8 Sep 2011 : Column 539

Human Trafficking 

13. Mr Peter Bone (Wellingborough) (Con): What recent discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for the Home Department on the Government’s policy on human trafficking in respect of major sporting events. [70600]

The Minister for Sport and the Olympics (Hugh Robertson): Regular Olympic briefings take place between my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State, me, Home Office Ministers and the Olympic intelligence centre to discuss threats to the games, including human trafficking. Although there is currently no evidence of an increase in human trafficking linked to the games, the Government are aware of the threat, which is real, and will remain vigilant.

Mr Bone: I thank the Minister for that full response. The danger of modern-day slavery at the Olympics is great. I appreciate that the Government have recognised that in their new strategy on human trafficking, which talks about the intelligence leading up to the games, but can he tell us a little more about how that works?

Hugh Robertson: Yes, of course I can. We have a bespoke Olympics intelligence centre, which looks specifically at intelligence leads surrounding information of all sorts feeding into the Olympics. As my hon. Friend correctly says, there is evidence that hosting world-class sports competitions can, in certain circumstances, lead to an increase in human trafficking. As yet there is no hard evidence that that is happening, but the threat remains and we will remain vigilant.

Tessa Jowell (Dulwich and West Norwood) (Lab): Just to remind the House, today is Paralympics day—a day of celebration up in Trafalgar square of the extraordinary achievements of Paralympians and of achievements to come.

The Minister will have seen the March 2010 report published by London Councils which examined the potential impact of the games on trafficking. I know that he shares my long-standing concern that the games should be safe for women and that London should be a no-go area for evil exploitation by traffickers. The London Councils report suggested that there was a particular risk that the number of Roma people trafficked for begging would increase. Have there been discussions with the Romanian Government and others to ensure that this risk does not materialise?

Hugh Robertson: That is a good question. I have not myself had discussions with the Romanian Government because the information I receive is channelled through the Olympic intelligence centre. I can give the right hon. Lady my absolute assurance—I believe she will get a security briefing within the next couple of weeks, so she will have the opportunity to ask that question herself—that I, too, will ask that specific question. As I say, there is no hard evidence to date that anything of this sort is occurring. As I said earlier, the threat is there and we will remain vigilant.

5 Sep 2011 : Column 304W

Victim Support Schemes: Human Trafficking

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many cases were referred to the Salvation Army’s new trafficking victim support scheme; and by whom between 7 and 14 July 2011. [68834]

Mr Blunt: Between 7 and 14 July, six individuals were referred to the government-funded support service for adult victims of trafficking, which is run by the Salvation Army. The referrals were made by police, charities and the Crown Prosecution Service.

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the nationality was of each of the suspected victims of trafficking referred to in the Salvation Army’s new trafficking victim support scheme between 7 and 14 July 2011; in which region each of the suspected victims was found; and which agency referred each case to the Salvation Army. [69121]