Human Trafficking

Thursday 25th April 2013 Lords Chamber

Question

11:23

Asked by

[Lord McColl of Dulwich]

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the letter from Lord Henley to Lord McColl of Dulwich (DEP 2012-0194) of 1 February 2012, which has been placed in the Library of the House, what further steps they have taken to ensure compliance with European Union Directive 2011/36/EU on preventing and combating trafficking in human beings and protecting its victims, given the passing of the compliance deadline on 6 April.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Home Office (Lord Taylor of Holbeach)]

My Lords, I pay tribute to my noble friend’s efforts to bring human trafficking to wider attention. The Government are confident that the UK fully complies with the requirements of the EU directive. We have extended extraterritorial jurisdiction so that we can prosecute UK nationals for trafficking regardless of where the offence occurs; expanded one labour trafficking offence; and amended legislation to protect trafficking victims in court proceedings. The victim care contract for England and Wales also reflects the directive.

[Lord McColl of Dulwich]

I thank the Minister for that reply, and for introducing the trafficking people for exploitation regulations, which have been very useful. However, because the Government have failed to notify the European Commission of the transposition of the directive, when I spoke to agents of the European Commission yesterday, they felt that we were still in breach. What plans does the Minister have to complete the process?

[Lord Taylor of Holbeach]

I can say that the UK has notified the Commission of the measures taken to transpose the directive. Compliance with the EU directive is of course only one of the ways in which we can fight that terrible crime. The Government’s human trafficking strategy is clear as to how the UK will identify and support victims, work with source countries, take action at the border and better co-ordinate UK law enforcement efforts under the direction of the interdepartmental ministerial group.

[Baroness Howarth of Breckland]

My Lords, I hear what the noble Lord says, but is it not true that having escaped rape and misuse, these people then find themselves without jobs or finance? What is the Minister doing to encourage local authorities to support those individuals, who are often alone, without any language skills or advocacy, and who cannot get back to their homeland but cannot survive in this country?

[Lord Taylor of Holbeach]

I thank the noble Baroness for that question. If noble Lords have the time today, they should go to the Upper Waiting Hall on the Grand Stairway to the Committee Room Corridor and visit the exhibition there, because it demonstrates how vulnerable those people are. Local authorities have a big responsibility in this regard. We have recently commissioned a review by the Children’s Society and the Refugee Council which will consider the experience of trafficked children in local authority care and try to establish good practice for local authorities. The review will report later this year.

[Baroness Smith of Basildon]

My Lords, the Minister will be aware of this week’s Lords EU Committee report, which stated that to opt out of EU policing and justice measures would,

“weaken the ability of the United Kingdom’s police and law enforcement authorities to cooperate with … other Member States regarding cross-border crime”.

Last year, 420 requests were made to the UK for immigration and human trafficking offences under the European arrest warrant. I am genuinely puzzled. I hope that the Minister can help me, because I know that he cares about the issue. How do the Government believe that opting out would fulfil the Prime Minister’s pledge to make Britain a world leader in the fight against human trafficking?

[Lord Taylor of Holbeach]

I do not see any conflict between our policy objective of re-evaluating our relationship on a number of European matters with our strategy for human trafficking which, by definition, involves co-operation with other countries, responding to other countries’ requests and making sure that other countries work with us to tackle this problem at source. We have representatives in vulnerable countries making sure that we are well aware of the scale of these operations overseas and are doing our best to stop at source the crime of young people being picked up to be brought to this country, as we know too well they are.

[Baroness Brinton]

My Lords, the 54 pages of advice that the UK Border Agency provides to its staff on identifying and working with suspected victims of trafficking are admirable, but how many front-line staff have been trained face to face in the identification of potential victims?

[Lord Taylor of Holbeach]

The Government have already recognised through the 2012 interdepartmental ministerial group the need to strengthen awareness training for front-line professionals. Police, immigration personnel and prosecutors across the UK have access to e-learning packages on human trafficking. In addition, the Government recently provided funding to three organisations to develop and deliver training to professionals working in a range of environments, including social care, youth offending teams and local authority housing.

[Lord Alton of Liverpool]

My Lords, in welcoming what the Minister said about tackling the long-term reasons for trafficking, has he read the excellent article by the right honourable Gordon Brown about the coalition that has been created to try to place more emphasis on the need for education as the way to break the cycle of disadvantage? We have only 1,000 days to go before the millennium development goals expire. Does not the Minister agree that children on the periphery, particularly trafficked children, those taken as child brides and those taken into child slavery, are incredibly vulnerable and that the way to break that cycle is by ensuring that children in many countries where they do not enjoy education do so?

[Lord Taylor of Holbeach]

I read an awful lot but I have not read that particular article. It sounds as if it is worth my attention, and I can understand the noble Lord drawing it to my attention. Yes, a lot of the battle on this issue lies in the originating countries, but it also lies here in ensuring that we detect and pick up these vulnerable individuals when they arrive, so it is a dual policy. I agree with the noble Lord that education is probably one of the most important factors.

[Lord Spicer]

My Lords, the letter to my noble friend Lord McColl states clearly that primary legislation is required. Will this be in the Queen’s Speech?

[Lord Taylor of Holbeach]

I think that noble Lords know the convention, and there are only a few more days to wait.