Asked by: Baroness Doocey (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Williams of Trafford on 21 December 2018 (HL12231), whether the updated Government's Missing Children and Adults Strategy will include specific measures to prevent child victims of trafficking going missing shortly after referral to the National Referral Mechanism.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
Government is committed to protecting all people who go missing, but recognises that the needs of children, particularly vulnerable children such as trafficked children, are different to those of adults and we have an even greater responsibility to protect them.
Home Office is working with partners to address the issues faced by all children who go missing through its refreshed Missing Children and Adults Strategy which will be published in the coming months. The refreshed Strategy will include cross-Government commitments aimed to prevent victims of child trafficking from going missing by ensuring they are given appropriate information and support. This includes work to encourage police forces to adopt the Operation Innerste process which aims to build trust between a child and the UK authorities, reducing the likelihood of them running away or going missing after a referral to the National Referral Mechanism.
Asked by: Baroness Doocey (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Williams of Trafford on 21 December 2018 (HL12231), when they plan to publish the updated version of the Government's Missing Children and Adults Strategy.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
Government is committed to protecting all people who go missing, but recognises that the needs of children, particularly vulnerable children such as trafficked children, are different to those of adults and we have an even greater responsibility to protect them.
Home Office is working with partners to address the issues faced by all children who go missing through its refreshed Missing Children and Adults Strategy which will be published in the coming months. The refreshed Strategy will include cross-Government commitments aimed to prevent victims of child trafficking from going missing by ensuring they are given appropriate information and support. This includes work to encourage police forces to adopt the Operation Innerste process which aims to build trust between a child and the UK authorities, reducing the likelihood of them running away or going missing after a referral to the National Referral Mechanism.
Asked by: Baroness Doocey (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, following the publication of Precarious journeys: Mapping vulnerabilities of victims of trafficking from Vietnam to Europe by Anti-Slavery International, Every Child Protected Against Trafficking UK and Pacific Links Foundation on 7 March, whether they will recruit more Vietnamese translators to assist with the issues of child trafficking victims.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
The Home Office recognises the ongoing high demand for Vietnamese interpreters across the department and has an ongoing recruitment campaign for all high demand languages, of which Vietnamese is a priority.
We will continue to explore and act upon potential recruitment avenues both regionally and nationally. Alongside the ongoing recruitment campaign, we will continue to work with stakeholders in assessing demand and have in place contingencies to ensure the available national resource is utilised as effectively as possible.
Asked by: Baroness Doocey (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Williams of Trafford on 21 December 2018 (HL12283), what proportion of Independent Child Trafficking Advocates (1) have had training on Vietnamese culture, and (2) can speak Vietnamese.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
The Home Office is leading a multi-agency review of First Responders to identify who should perform this role and how they should be trained. As part of this review, the Government will consider what mandatory training First Responders should undertake, including mandatory training on child-specific material. The results of this review will be published in Spring.
In November 2017, the Department for Education published a Safeguarding Strategy (for unaccompanied asylum seeking and refugee children). The Strategy commissioned a further 1000 training places for carers and support workers to equip them with the skills they need to identify when a child is at risk of going missing and of potentially being trafficked onwards. The Refugee Council has been commissioned to deliver this training and will have delivered 1000 places by the end of March 2019.
Independent Child Trafficking Advocates (ICTAs) receive training which includes awareness of the child’s culture, customs, language, etiquette and history as this enables the ICTA to engage more effectively with the child. The ICTA Service also employs two Vietnamese nationals who speak Vietnamese, to help with appropriate and accurate translation as well as supporting the ICTA with being culturally relevant when supporting children and young people.
Asked by: Baroness Doocey (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, following the publication of Precarious journeys: Mapping vulnerabilities of victims of trafficking from Vietnam to Europe by Anti-Slavery International, Every Child Protected Against Trafficking UK and Pacific Links Foundation on 7 March, what plans they have to introduce mandatory training for frontline professionals working with victims of child trafficking that include training on Vietnamese culture and specific control mechanisms such as debt bondage.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
The Home Office is leading a multi-agency review of First Responders to identify who should perform this role and how they should be trained. As part of this review, the Government will consider what mandatory training First Responders should undertake, including mandatory training on child-specific material. The results of this review will be published in Spring.
In November 2017, the Department for Education published a Safeguarding Strategy (for unaccompanied asylum seeking and refugee children). The Strategy commissioned a further 1000 training places for carers and support workers to equip them with the skills they need to identify when a child is at risk of going missing and of potentially being trafficked onwards. The Refugee Council has been commissioned to deliver this training and will have delivered 1000 places by the end of March 2019.
Independent Child Trafficking Advocates (ICTAs) receive training which includes awareness of the child’s culture, customs, language, etiquette and history as this enables the ICTA to engage more effectively with the child. The ICTA Service also employs two Vietnamese nationals who speak Vietnamese, to help with appropriate and accurate translation as well as supporting the ICTA with being culturally relevant when supporting children and young people.
Asked by: Baroness Doocey (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to update the guidance Criminal exploitation of children and vulnerable adults: county lines for frontline staff working with victims of child trafficking who have been exploited in cannabis farms, or issue further guidance; and if so, when such update or guidance will be made available.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
The Government published guidance on support to victims of county lines for frontline staff in July 2017, which was reviewed and updated in September 2018.
Work is underway to develop guidance on the issue of victims of child trafficking for the purposes of cannabis farming, and we will publish it as soon as possible.
Asked by: Baroness Doocey (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many Vietnamese children have gone missing from care shortly after referral to the National Referral Mechanism since the introduction of the Modern Slavery Act 2015.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
Any child (including a trafficked child) who goes missing is a concern, particularly to those directly responsible for their care. The Government is fully committed to addressing this issue and the Home Office are actively working with partners to address the issue of all children who go missing from home and care through its updated Missing strategy, which will be published in the coming months.
We do not collate data on children who go missing through the National Referral Mechanism, such data is held at a local level. The National Crime Agency (NCA) regularly publishes National Referral Mechanism (NRM) data. Data Latest statistics on NRM referrals and decisions are available at the following link:
Further information is also available in the 2018 UK Annual Report on Modern Slavery which was published on 18 October 2018.
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/2018-uk-annual-report-on-modern-slavery
Asked by: Baroness Doocey (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to a tourism and hospitality sectoral exemption in their proposals for intermediate and high-skilled migrants to earn a minimum salary of £30,000 per annum.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
As set out in the White Paper, ‘The UK’s future skills-based immigration system’, we propose to define high, medium and lower skilled occupation by referring to the national Regulated Qualification Framework (RQF) levels.
Occupations falling into each of these skills will be set out in codes of practices.
In their report, EEA migration in the UK, the independent Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) recommended maintaining the existing £30,000 minimum salary threshold. We are launching an extensive year long programme of engagement with a wide range of stakeholders across the UK, including the private, public and voluntary sector, employers and businesses, as well as the EU and international partners. We are also launching a number of new advisory groups and expand on existing forums, consisting of business and employer representatives, to help inform the detailed design of the future immigration system.
Asked by: Baroness Doocey (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they intend to adapt their post-Brexit immigration plans to ensure that skills relevant to the tourism industry are included within their definition of high and intermediate skilled workers.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
As set out in the White Paper, ‘The UK’s future skills-based immigration system’, we propose to define high, medium and lower skilled occupation by referring to the national Regulated Qualification Framework (RQF) levels.
Occupations falling into each of these skills will be set out in codes of practices.
In their report, EEA migration in the UK, the independent Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) recommended maintaining the existing £30,000 minimum salary threshold. We are launching an extensive year long programme of engagement with a wide range of stakeholders across the UK, including the private, public and voluntary sector, employers and businesses, as well as the EU and international partners. We are also launching a number of new advisory groups and expand on existing forums, consisting of business and employer representatives, to help inform the detailed design of the future immigration system.
Asked by: Baroness Doocey (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what further plans they have to expand the availability of Tier 5 (Youth Mobility Scheme) visas beyond their proposals to expand their availability to EU citizens.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
We have proposed a UK-EU Youth Mobility Scheme (YMS) as part of our Mobility Framework to ensure that young people can continue to enjoy the social, cultural and educational benefits of living in the EU and the UK.
We will ensure that our future immigration system continues to support the thriving cultural exchanges that the YMS cultivates.