Asked by: Carolyn Harris (Labour - Neath and Swansea East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the impact of negative conclusive grounds decisions under the National Referral Mechanism on vulnerable individuals.
Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
From January 2020 to September 2024, there were 70,790 referrals into the National Referral Mechanism (NRM). These have seen a continued increase.
In the same period, there were 51,850 positive reasonable grounds decisions made, and 34,254 conclusive grounds decisions made. Of which 24,233 were positive and 10,021 were negative. These statistics may change as new information becomes available, or if decisions are reconsidered.
With regards to the impact of recent legislation, the Illegal Migration Act 2023 has not been commenced in full, and the Government has made clear that the migration partnership with Rwanda will end. Any legislative plans resulting from this decision will be set out in due course.
This Government has been clear that identifying and supporting victims effectively is a key priority – that is why we have invested in 200 new decision makers to clear the backlog of cases and reduce wait times for victims.
The Home Office publishes modern slavery statistics on a quarterly basis and holds all policies and procedures under review to ensure they are effective in delivering the aims of the Government. As part of our New Plan for Immigration, we will take forward an evaluation workstream to understand the impact being achieved.
Asked by: Carolyn Harris (Labour - Neath and Swansea East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the scale of commercial sexual exploitation across the country.
Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The trafficking of women and girls for sexual exploitation is a truly horrific crime. This Government has set out a mission to halve violence against women and girls in a decade, and we will use all of our levers available to deliver.
The Government is working closely with law enforcement to tackle the drivers of trafficking for sexual exploitation, including through operational intensifications to target prolific perpetrators.
We have several ways to estimate the scale of sexual exploitation. Victims of sexual exploitation make up a significant proportion of referrals to the National Referral Mechanism (the framework for identifying and referring potential victims of modern slavery to appropriate support). The most recent statistics show that in 2023, sexual exploitation accounted for 10% (1,679) of all referrals, a 2% increase from the previous year, with 9% (1,470) of referrals relating to women.
Online platforms are a significant enabler of sexual exploitation. The Online Safety Act 2023 sets out priority offences, including sexual exploitation and human trafficking offences, and companies will need to adopt measures and put in place systems and processes to identify, assess and address these offences based on a risk assessment.
To help support victims, we are providing £1.36m over three years to Changing Lives for their Net-Reach project, which provides early intervention and targeted support for women and girls at high-risk of commercial exploitation. We are also providing £378,811 to Trevi Women who provide trauma-informed support to women wishing to exit on-street prostitution.
In addition, the Modern Slavery Victim Care Contract provides support to adult potential and confirmed victims of modern slavery in England and Wales. This support includes financial support and a support worker to help them access wider services, including medical treatment, legal aid, legal representatives, and legal advice.
Home Office Ministers regularly meet with stakeholders, including NGOs and law enforcement partners, to promote the better identification and prosecution of perpetrators, and to enhance support for victims who are trapped within commercial sexual exploitation under the guise of prostitution.
The Government will set out policies in this area in due course.
Asked by: Carolyn Harris (Labour - Neath and Swansea East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what support the Government is providing to help victims of sexual exploitation exit prostitution.
Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The trafficking of women and girls for sexual exploitation is a truly horrific crime. This Government has set out a mission to halve violence against women and girls in a decade, and we will use all of our levers available to deliver.
The Government is working closely with law enforcement to tackle the drivers of trafficking for sexual exploitation, including through operational intensifications to target prolific perpetrators.
We have several ways to estimate the scale of sexual exploitation. Victims of sexual exploitation make up a significant proportion of referrals to the National Referral Mechanism (the framework for identifying and referring potential victims of modern slavery to appropriate support). The most recent statistics show that in 2023, sexual exploitation accounted for 10% (1,679) of all referrals, a 2% increase from the previous year, with 9% (1,470) of referrals relating to women.
Online platforms are a significant enabler of sexual exploitation. The Online Safety Act 2023 sets out priority offences, including sexual exploitation and human trafficking offences, and companies will need to adopt measures and put in place systems and processes to identify, assess and address these offences based on a risk assessment.
To help support victims, we are providing £1.36m over three years to Changing Lives for their Net-Reach project, which provides early intervention and targeted support for women and girls at high-risk of commercial exploitation. We are also providing £378,811 to Trevi Women who provide trauma-informed support to women wishing to exit on-street prostitution.
In addition, the Modern Slavery Victim Care Contract provides support to adult potential and confirmed victims of modern slavery in England and Wales. This support includes financial support and a support worker to help them access wider services, including medical treatment, legal aid, legal representatives, and legal advice.
Home Office Ministers regularly meet with stakeholders, including NGOs and law enforcement partners, to promote the better identification and prosecution of perpetrators, and to enhance support for victims who are trapped within commercial sexual exploitation under the guise of prostitution.
The Government will set out policies in this area in due course.
Asked by: Carolyn Harris (Labour - Neath and Swansea East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to help reduce demand for trafficking for sexual exploitation.
Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The trafficking of women and girls for sexual exploitation is a truly horrific crime. This Government has set out a mission to halve violence against women and girls in a decade, and we will use all of our levers available to deliver.
The Government is working closely with law enforcement to tackle the drivers of trafficking for sexual exploitation, including through operational intensifications to target prolific perpetrators.
We have several ways to estimate the scale of sexual exploitation. Victims of sexual exploitation make up a significant proportion of referrals to the National Referral Mechanism (the framework for identifying and referring potential victims of modern slavery to appropriate support). The most recent statistics show that in 2023, sexual exploitation accounted for 10% (1,679) of all referrals, a 2% increase from the previous year, with 9% (1,470) of referrals relating to women.
Online platforms are a significant enabler of sexual exploitation. The Online Safety Act 2023 sets out priority offences, including sexual exploitation and human trafficking offences, and companies will need to adopt measures and put in place systems and processes to identify, assess and address these offences based on a risk assessment.
To help support victims, we are providing £1.36m over three years to Changing Lives for their Net-Reach project, which provides early intervention and targeted support for women and girls at high-risk of commercial exploitation. We are also providing £378,811 to Trevi Women who provide trauma-informed support to women wishing to exit on-street prostitution.
In addition, the Modern Slavery Victim Care Contract provides support to adult potential and confirmed victims of modern slavery in England and Wales. This support includes financial support and a support worker to help them access wider services, including medical treatment, legal aid, legal representatives, and legal advice.
Home Office Ministers regularly meet with stakeholders, including NGOs and law enforcement partners, to promote the better identification and prosecution of perpetrators, and to enhance support for victims who are trapped within commercial sexual exploitation under the guise of prostitution.
The Government will set out policies in this area in due course.
Asked by: Carolyn Harris (Labour - Neath and Swansea East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to prevent organised crime groups from advertising victims of (a) trafficking and (b) other sexual exploitation offences on websites advertising prostitution.
Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The trafficking of women and girls for sexual exploitation is a truly horrific crime. This Government has set out a mission to halve violence against women and girls in a decade, and we will use all of our levers available to deliver.
The Government is working closely with law enforcement to tackle the drivers of trafficking for sexual exploitation, including through operational intensifications to target prolific perpetrators.
We have several ways to estimate the scale of sexual exploitation. Victims of sexual exploitation make up a significant proportion of referrals to the National Referral Mechanism (the framework for identifying and referring potential victims of modern slavery to appropriate support). The most recent statistics show that in 2023, sexual exploitation accounted for 10% (1,679) of all referrals, a 2% increase from the previous year, with 9% (1,470) of referrals relating to women.
Online platforms are a significant enabler of sexual exploitation. The Online Safety Act 2023 sets out priority offences, including sexual exploitation and human trafficking offences, and companies will need to adopt measures and put in place systems and processes to identify, assess and address these offences based on a risk assessment.
To help support victims, we are providing £1.36m over three years to Changing Lives for their Net-Reach project, which provides early intervention and targeted support for women and girls at high-risk of commercial exploitation. We are also providing £378,811 to Trevi Women who provide trauma-informed support to women wishing to exit on-street prostitution.
In addition, the Modern Slavery Victim Care Contract provides support to adult potential and confirmed victims of modern slavery in England and Wales. This support includes financial support and a support worker to help them access wider services, including medical treatment, legal aid, legal representatives, and legal advice.
Home Office Ministers regularly meet with stakeholders, including NGOs and law enforcement partners, to promote the better identification and prosecution of perpetrators, and to enhance support for victims who are trapped within commercial sexual exploitation under the guise of prostitution.
The Government will set out policies in this area in due course.
Asked by: Carolyn Harris (Labour - Neath and Swansea East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether he has made a recent estimate of the total amount of money that has been returned to victims of gambling-related crimes by (a) the gambling industry, (b) Proceeds of Crime Act proceedings and (c) any other means in the 2023-24 financial year.
Answered by Chris Philp - Shadow Home Secretary
Neither the Government nor the Gambling Commission hold information on how many crimes related to harmful gambling were committed in the last 12 months and there has been no recent estimate as to the total amount of money that has been returned to victims of gambling-related crimes.
The Office for Health Improvement and Disparities (OHID) in Department of Health and Social Care have undertaken an evidence review which provides estimates of the economic costs of harmful gambling, which includes a section on criminal activity (chapter 6).The economic cost of gambling-related harm in England: evidence update 2023 (publishing.service.gov.uk)
The Gambling Act 2005 sets out the following licensing objectives:
As the statutory regulator, the Gambling Commission is responsible for making sure all licensing applications meet these objectives. The Commission has published a statement of principles for licensing and regulation which sets out how it governs what it does and how they help to meet the Act's licensing objectives.
Asked by: Carolyn Harris (Labour - Neath and Swansea East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many crimes related to harmful gambling were committed in the last 12 months; what the nature of those crimes was; and if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of those crimes on (a) the economy and (b) wider society.
Answered by Chris Philp - Shadow Home Secretary
Neither the Government nor the Gambling Commission hold information on how many crimes related to harmful gambling were committed in the last 12 months and there has been no recent estimate as to the total amount of money that has been returned to victims of gambling-related crimes.
The Office for Health Improvement and Disparities (OHID) in Department of Health and Social Care have undertaken an evidence review which provides estimates of the economic costs of harmful gambling, which includes a section on criminal activity (chapter 6).The economic cost of gambling-related harm in England: evidence update 2023 (publishing.service.gov.uk)
The Gambling Act 2005 sets out the following licensing objectives:
As the statutory regulator, the Gambling Commission is responsible for making sure all licensing applications meet these objectives. The Commission has published a statement of principles for licensing and regulation which sets out how it governs what it does and how they help to meet the Act's licensing objectives.
Asked by: Carolyn Harris (Labour - Neath and Swansea East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will make an assessment of the impact of gambling-related (a) fraud and (b) other acquisitive crimes on the finances of the victims of those crimes.
Answered by Chris Philp - Shadow Home Secretary
Neither the Government nor the Gambling Commission hold information on how many crimes related to harmful gambling were committed in the last 12 months and there has been no recent estimate as to the total amount of money that has been returned to victims of gambling-related crimes.
The Office for Health Improvement and Disparities (OHID) in Department of Health and Social Care have undertaken an evidence review which provides estimates of the economic costs of harmful gambling, which includes a section on criminal activity (chapter 6).The economic cost of gambling-related harm in England: evidence update 2023 (publishing.service.gov.uk)
The Gambling Act 2005 sets out the following licensing objectives:
As the statutory regulator, the Gambling Commission is responsible for making sure all licensing applications meet these objectives. The Commission has published a statement of principles for licensing and regulation which sets out how it governs what it does and how they help to meet the Act's licensing objectives.
Asked by: Carolyn Harris (Labour - Neath and Swansea East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to paragraph 60 g) of the Anti-Social Behaviour Action Plan, published by his Department on 27 March 2023, whether that stakeholder engagement has been completed; which stakeholders were consulted; and if he will publish the results of the engagement.
Answered by Chris Philp - Shadow Home Secretary
‘Cuckooing’ is most commonly associated with the county lines drug distribution model. That’s why, as part of our ambitious 10-year Drugs Strategy, we are investing up to £145m over three years to tackle drugs supply and county lines activity, taking action against county lines holders and safeguarding children and vulnerable people.
The targeted stakeholder engagement exercise, announced as part of the Government’s Anti-Social Behaviour Action Plan in March 2023, was conducted over the spring/summer of this year. Officials engaged on the potential merits and scope of a new offence to tackle cuckooing with a variety of key stakeholders such as the police, CJS partners, local authorities, other Government departments, specialists in the field which included academics and NGOs, and the Devolved Governments.
The results of the engagement exercise revealed there are a range of powers and tools available to disrupt cuckooing activity and officials continue to work closely with police and wider partners to both raise awareness of cuckooing and share effective practice to tackle this abhorrent practice.
Asked by: Carolyn Harris (Labour - Neath and Swansea East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the national county lines operation reported by the National Police Chiefs Council on 21 October 2021, how many people have been charged with criminal offences in respect of the act of cuckooing; and of those charged, how many charges have been brought under section (a) one and (b) two the Modern Slavery Act 2015.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
As a part of our County Lines programme we are supporting the National County Lines Co-ordination Centre (NCLCC) which has been established to strengthen the law enforcement response and enable police forces to work together to tackle this complex issue.
The NCLCC regularly coordinates weeks of intensive action against county lines gangs, which all police forces take part in. As reported by the National Police Chiefs Council (NPCC), the most recent of these took place between 11-17 October and resulted in more than 1,400 arrests, nearly £2m worth of class A drugs, over £1m in cash and nearly 300 weapons seized, more than 2,600 vulnerable people safeguarded, and 894 cuckooed addresses visited.
The NPCC do not report on charges for the week of intensification. However, the NCLCC have identified all national law enforcement initiatives in relation to ‘cuckooing’ and are sharing best practice. Examples include working with local authorities and housing associations to disrupt this malicious crime and signpost vulnerable victims to support.