Asked by: Alister Jack (Conservative - Dumfries and Galloway)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether his Department has identified the port of Cairnryan as a route for human trafficking; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Caroline Nokes
Tackling human trafficking and modern slavery, both in the UK and overseas, is a priority for the government.
The tackling of human trafficking is a devolved matter for the Scottish Government. At the border, intelligence-led operations to disrupt traffickers and protect victims is the key to Border Force’s response to the threat of Modern Slavery. Through the Modern Slavery Threat Group, Border Force work alongside UKVI, IE and other law enforcement agencies to identify and disrupt modern slavery offenders.
It is not Border Force Policy to release port specific information as it could compromise operational and National Security.
Asked by: Alister Jack (Conservative - Dumfries and Galloway)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps his Department is taking to tackle human trafficking in Scotland.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Shadow Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
The tackling of human trafficking is a devolved matter and the Scottish Government works closely with Police Scotland, Convention of Scottish Local Authorities, Procurator Fiscal Service and other key partners to address this crime and support victims. This includes co-ordination with the Home Office and UK-wide bodies including Border Force and Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority.
The Scottish Parliament passed legislation in 2015 entitled “Human Trafficking and Exploitation (Scotland) Act” to tackle human trafficking in Scotland. Since then, a range of work has taken place to implement the Scottish Government’s Trafficking and Exploitation Strategy, focussing on three action areas: identifying and supporting victims, identifying and disrupting perpetrators, and addressing the conditions that foster trafficking and exploitation. The Scottish Government will soon publish the first annual progress report on implementation of the Strategy.
Asked by: Alister Jack (Conservative - Dumfries and Galloway)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assistance UK Border Force is providing to support Operation Delphin at the Port of Cairnryan.
Answered by Brandon Lewis
The port of Cairnryan is a domestic UK port. Border Force has no powers to operate in that environment.
Asked by: Alister Jack (Conservative - Dumfries and Galloway)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate she has made of the number of people who have been trafficked into the UK through the Port of Cairnryan in each of the last three years.
Answered by Sarah Newton
Information is not held centrally on the specific location from which potential victims of modern slavery and human trafficking are first identified. For Scotland as a whole, the number of potential victims first identified in Scotland and referred to the National Referral Mechanism (the support service provided to potential victims of modern slavery and human trafficking) for the last three years are:
Year | Total number of potential victims of modern slavery and human trafficking first indentified in Scotland and referred to the National Referral Mechanism |
2016 | 150 |
2015 | 145 |
2014 | 111 |