Independent Advocates for Trafficked Children

Debate between Fiona Mactaggart and Helen Grant

Tuesday 28th June 2016 Westminster Hall

[Fiona Mactaggart]

I do not think we have evidence about consistency, to be honest, but a comprehensive advocacy service would give us that evidence and could also improve consistency. The advocates were able to help children to orient themselves and navigate complex services; to keep trafficked children safely visible to all authorities—we know that is a problem in some areas—to build relationships of trust with the children and with other professionals; to speak up for children where necessary; to maintain momentum in the progress of their cases, including planning for their future; and to improve the quality of decision making in those cases. The children in the trials who had an advocate felt more secure and supported than those who did not. In the words of the report,

“when an advocate was involved in their life, the children had a sense of being cared for in a ‘tight knit’ manner. For the comparator group children, a steady impression emerged of more ‘loose weave’ relationships with intermittent contact with social workers”.

As one child put it:

“I can call my social worker and then she tells me OK but I’m busy or something. But if I call [the advocate] then she can make things happen.”

[Mrs Helen Grant (Maidstone and The Weald) (Con)]

I, too, congratulate the right hon. Lady on her very good work with the all-party parliamentary group. I declare an interest as a trustee of the Human Trafficking Foundation. The right hon. Lady makes a good case. Does she agree that a close relationship with the advocate often allows the child to feel more comfortable and confident and therefore less likely to take instructions from the trafficker and more likely to trust the local authority?

[Fiona Mactaggart]

Every human being needs that person they trust and who they know will stand up for them at every point. For so many of these children, initially that person is the one who brought them to this country, often to exploit them. The great thing about creating an independent advocates scheme is that it gives the children that person.

In February 2015, when the Modern Slavery Bill was on Report in the other place, the Home Office Minister Lord Bates said:

“The success of the trial will be measured by assessing the impact of advocates on the quality of decision-making in relation to the child trafficking victims’ needs by key professionals—for example, social workers, immigration officials and police officers—the child trafficking victims’ well-being; their understanding, experience and satisfaction of the immigration, social care and criminal justice system; and their perceptions of practitioners.”—[Official Report, House of Lords, 25 February 2015; Vol. 759, c. 1668-69.]

If that is the test, there is no doubt that the pilot was a success.

The evaluation report also recognises significant value in having the advocate role operate independently of local authorities and other agencies that provide services to the children, which enabled advocates to play a co-ordinating role, thereby keeping momentum in a child’s case, and to encourage coherence in how they were treated. It also gave the advocate a 360-degree view of the child, their life and their circumstances, which helped them to provide more informed and comprehensive support. One professional stakeholder described the benefit of the holistic nature of the advocate’s role thus:

“The independent CTA [child trafficking advocate] that I have met had a cross cutting knowledge of the NRM, criminal and immigration proceedings that other professionals working with the child (social services and support workers) openly told me they did not. She made sure that his interests in all…areas were proactively pursued, by remaining in contact with all other relevant professionals working with the child. I thought she was excellent in tying these areas together.”

That connects with the point that the hon. Member for Maidstone and The Weald (Mrs Grant) made about those children needing their trusted person. I worry that the Government’s unpublished anxieties about the shortcomings of the pilot risk our losing some of those special qualities in whatever is the next iteration of the scheme.

The trials showed that advocates can raise awareness of sexual exploitation, help to address poor legal services provided to a child, and challenge when children are placed in bed-and-breakfast accommodation, where other residents might exploit them, rather than with experienced foster families. They help children to access education and support with many everyday needs such as getting transport passes, opening bank accounts and going to after-school clubs. Sadly, those benefits were overlooked by the Government’s response to the trials, which stated that

“the impact of the independent child trafficking advocates…appears to be equivocal”—

a statement so contradictory to the conclusion of the evaluation report that it is honestly difficult to see on what basis it was made.

One sticking point was the failure of advocates to prevent children from going missing from care. Sadly, the Government seem to have a mistaken interpretation of the evaluation’s findings on that account. The fact is that seven of the 15 children who went missing from the advocacy group did so before an advocate was appointed; an accurate reflection of the figures would therefore be to say that, of the 27 children who were permanently missing at the end of the trial, only eight had an advocate in place. The failure of the Government so far to acknowledge that is concerning. I know that preventing children from going missing and protecting them from further exploitation must be a priority, and I welcome the Government’s concern.

[Mrs Grant]

On that important point, does the right hon. Lady agree that children go missing for myriad reasons, including the quality of accommodation, the relationship with the trafficker and the level of English? Although the going missing factor is extremely important, it is probably an unrealistic measure of the trial’s success.

[Fiona Mactaggart]

That is exactly the point I was coming on to. [Interruption.]

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Fiona Mactaggart and Helen Grant

Thursday 26th February 2015 Commons Chamber

[Mrs Grant]

That sounds great. I can’t wait—I love Lancashire hotpot. Yes, please send me an invitation. Many congratulations on those food tourism efforts.

[Fiona Mactaggart (Slough) (Lab)]

5. What steps he plans to take to ensure that children learn about or experience the creative arts.

--- Later in debate ---

[Mrs Grant]

I have met the gentlemen from my hon. Friend’s constituency, and they gave me a fabulous black and yellow rugby shirt, which I put on. They are called the Bumbles, and they are fabulous. I will be happy to have a meeting or discussion with my hon. Friend about funding that event.

[Fiona Mactaggart (Slough) (Lab)]

T4. Earlier, the Minister for Culture and the Digital Economy dodged his way around the figures that I cited from the Warwick report about the drastic decline in children’s experience and learning in creative subjects. Perhaps he will respond more positively to another of its recommendations, which is that every publicly funded organisation that deals with cataloguing and archives on the net should be encouraged to use the same mechanisms for the cataloguing of GLAM—galleries, libraries, museums and archives—so that the archives can be more easily accessed and searched by everyone.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Fiona Mactaggart and Helen Grant

Thursday 15th January 2015 Commons Chamber

[Fiona Mactaggart (Slough) (Lab)]

T4. When research by the Responsible Gambling Trust reveals that a third of fixed-odds betting terminal users have a problem with gambling, is it not time to end the £100 maximum stake, which means that a person in my constituency can spend his whole income in just four spins?

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport (Mrs Helen Grant)]

I know that the hon. Lady is concerned about these issues, and so am I. The Responsible Gambling Trust report endorsed the precautionary approach that we took in April, when we introduced proportionate and measured reforms that gave local authorities more power. I can also tell her that I shall be meeting the chief executives of all the betting industry companies in a few weeks’ time to see what more they are prepared to do.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Fiona Mactaggart and Helen Grant

Thursday 27th November 2014 Commons Chamber

[Mrs Grant]

I thank my hon. Friend for his wonderfully positive remarks. We are of course aware of concerns, but we remain confident that this will be a great event and that tickets will get into the hands of genuine supporters and fans.

[Fiona Mactaggart (Slough) (Lab)]

15. What recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of children’s access to the creative arts; and if he will make a statement.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Fiona Mactaggart and Helen Grant

Thursday 13th March 2014 Commons Chamber

[Mrs Grant]

Yes, my right hon. Friend is absolutely right. Our party has a proud record on all these areas. However, we recognise that we are on a journey and that it is far from complete. It is therefore very important that all parties continue to prioritise that very important issue.

[Fiona Mactaggart (Slough) (Lab)]

I wonder whether the Minister can help me. Since 3 February I have been asking various Government Departments about the gender breakdown of public appointments they make and which ones are paid. All the Departments consistently refer me to a table published by the Cabinet Office that makes no reference to which roles are paid. Will she ensure that we know how many women appointed to public office by this Government are paid and how many men similarly appointed are paid?

[Mrs Grant]

I know that this is an important issue for the hon. Lady and that she raised it during the international women’s day debate. The Government have a very good record on public appointments. I will do my best to find that information for her. I am aware that she has made a freedom of information request. If she does not receive an answer in the next few weeks, I shall be very happy to look into the matter further.

Women’s Contribution to the Economy

Debate between Fiona Mactaggart and Helen Grant

Thursday 6th March 2014 Westminster Hall

[Mrs Grant]

That is an important point. There never seem to be enough hours in the day, somehow, but I promise to look at the report and talk to my hon. Friend about its conclusions.

Since Lord Davies reported in February 2011, there have been unprecedented changes in the composition of boardrooms. Women now make up 20.4% of the directors of FTSE100 companies, which is up from 12.5%, and there are now just two all-male FTSE100 boards; that figure is down from 21. Again, that is great news for the economy, but it is vital that we maintain the momentum. We need just 51 more women on FTSE100 boards by 2015 to achieve the 25% target set by Lord Davies.

The pay gap is an important issue. I do not think that it has been raised directly in today’s debate, but it is never too far from my mind. It is a matter of concern that women are still disadvantaged in pay. We are addressing that in two main ways. First, for the vast majority of businesses who want to do the right thing by their female employees, we are encouraging good practice through the voluntary “Think, Act, Report” initiative. More than 170 organisations representing more than 2 million employees are showing that they are committed to equality in their business. As the Minister responsible for tourism I was pleased to announce this morning at a Women 1st women in tourism event that Merlin Entertainments, Brakes Group, easyJet, Advantage Travel and CH&Co catering have now signed up to that important initiative.

However, we shall also take tough action against employers who do not do the right thing, and from October when a tribunal finds that an employer has broken equal pay laws it will order a full pay audit, to prevent continuing sex discrimination in pay matters.

[Fiona Mactaggart]

One of the things that my constituents say to me is that because they cannot get legal aid and proper support for tribunals, they are less likely to take such cases to a tribunal. A policy that triggers action against a company only after a successful tribunal claim has been made is likely to be less effective in future than it would have been in the past.

[Mrs Grant]

The hon. Lady has raised that issue before, and I know that she is concerned about it. As she knows, there is a remission system, so when people do not have the money to pay the fee, the state will step in. That remission system has been around for some years, and it has worked very well. I trust that it will continue to work well to ensure that people have access to justice, a concept that is very important to me and to others.

[Mrs Grant]

I apologise to the shadow Minister for not mentioning the fact that she had raised the gender pay gap; I, of course, heard her. It is an important issue, and I think we are making progress. The overall gender pay gap still stands at just under 20%, which in my opinion is completely unacceptable, but I believe that the two measures that we are taking—one of scrutiny in relation to compulsory pay audits and the other about transparency through “Think, Act, Report”—will have the desired effect.

A number of interventions have been made by hon. Members today. I am not sure whether I will be able to deal with all of them, but I will do my best. My right hon. Friend the Member for Meriden raised the geographic disparity in women’s employment rates and suggested that cultural factors might be partly responsible. There are a number of factors at play, and cultural heritage may well be one of them. We want to help all girls and women to fulfil their potential, and we have a programme of work for that purpose to raise girls’ aspirations, which includes a school and business partnership and a resource for parents to help them support their daughters with their career choices. A number of excellent organisations are helping us, including QED-UK, a project that supports women of Pakistani heritage into employment in south Yorkshire, which is making excellent progress.

The hon. Member for Slough asked whether I would discuss with the Department for Education the issue of young girls receiving advertisements for jobs ancillary to sex work. I am appalled that young women are receiving adverts for jobs ancillary to adult entertainment, and I will certainly raise that issue with my ministerial colleagues.

The hon. Lady and my hon. Friend the Member for Suffolk Coastal spoke in detail and with great authority about women on boards. I share their concern that where women are getting board roles, they are more likely to be successful in non-executive roles. If we are to make real and proper progress in that area, it is essential that we focus on developing the executive pipeline. I would like to acknowledge the excellent work of an organisation called Women 1st, to which I gave a keynote speech this morning, which is trailblazing in this area. I look forward to hosting and chairing an event involving head-hunters in the next few weeks with my hon. Friend the Member for Suffolk Coastal and others.

The hon. Member for Solihull (Lorely Burt), who is no longer in her seat, remarked on the poor showing of the UK, in comparison with the United States, on enterprise. If she were here, I would be saying to her that the Women’s Business Council is prioritising women’s entrepreneurship. At a meeting yesterday, members of the council discussed what they could do as leaders in industry, and they discussed issues such as positive role models and positive behaviours. The council is determined to make further progress in that area.

My hon. Friend the Member for Suffolk Coastal spoke in detail about science, technology, engineering and maths, about which she knows an awful lot. I agree with her that we need to encourage more girls to study STEM subjects and raise their aspirations. That topic will be discussed at the United Nations next week, at the Commission on the Status of Women. I am happy to say that the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, my right hon. Friend the Member for Basingstoke (Maria Miller), and Nicola Yates, a Women’s Business Council member from GlaxoSmithKline, will be advocating on behalf of the UK the need to support girls into those disciplines and sharing best practice with a truly international audience.

One of our enlightened men—unfortunately he is no longer in his place—my hon. Friend the Member for Finchley and Golders Green (Mike Freer), raised the need to get our girls to do A-level maths, which is an important issue. Action is being taken, and £200 million of Government investment has gone into STEM higher education teaching facilities, and higher education institutions will be required to match funding. The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills is also funding a programme of work to promote diversity in the STEM work force.

My hon. Friend the Member for South Basildon and East Thurrock (Stephen Metcalfe), who has left the room, spoke about men as agents for change. We need to have the men with us on this agenda if we are to make progress. I always say that when courageous women meet with enlightened men, there is very little that they cannot achieve. I am pleased that he made that contribution. On 20 February, John Timpson of the Women’s Business Council hosted a round-table meeting with male CEOs to develop strategies to support flexible and modern workplaces. It is important for male leaders to demonstrate leadership in that area, and their doing so shows commitment and best practice.

The shadow Minister and the hon. Member for Slough raised the issue of women and public appointments, especially in Whitehall. The Government are absolutely committed to increasing the diversity of public appointments, and we have recently established a centre for public appointments, which works right across Whitehall and with executive search industries to modernise the recruitment practices to public boards. The Government’s aim, which the shadow Minister may be aware of, is for 50% of new public appointments to be women by the end of the Parliament, and we have recently published an action plan for achieving that. We are making progress; 37% of public appointments made by Whitehall Departments in 2012-13 were women, and that has risen to 45% in the past six months.

[Fiona Mactaggart]

Will the Minister give way?

[Mrs Grant]

If I can just finish my point. The hon. Member for Slough asked how many of the appointments were paid; I do not know, but I would be happy to look into that and write to her in due course. If that is the issue she wanted to raise, I hope that I can push on; if not, I will sit down.

[Fiona Mactaggart]

It is the issue I was going to raise, and I am grateful to the Minister for her offer to write to me. However, I wish I could get a reply to the question that I have asked every Department. I just want the number of appointments that are paid to be in the public domain. We do not currently know, and that information ought to be published. If the Minister could make that happen, I would be very grateful.

[Mrs Grant]

I shall do my very best to provide the hon. Lady with the information she has requested. I would also be happy to meet her if she needs further information once she has received what I will endeavour to send to her.

Parliamentary Representation

Debate between Fiona Mactaggart and Helen Grant

Thursday 27th February 2014 Commons Chamber

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport (Mrs Helen Grant)]

I congratulate the hon. Member for Aberdeen South (Dame Anne Begg) on securing this important debate. She has been a tireless and passionate advocate of the Speaker’s Conference, and she is quite a role model in her own right. I pay tribute to all hon. Members who have made excellent contributions in thoughtful speeches and interventions.

Our democratic institutions make the best decisions when they have a mix of people with different skills, backgrounds and experiences from different parts of the country. As things stand, Parliament, especially as seen on television, presents as a predominantly white, middle-aged, male institution, which is not good for anyone’s faith in democracy—a point that was made in very strong terms at the Speaker’s Conference.

The House is an institution designed by men and for men hundreds and hundreds of years ago, it seems, and it often shows. The hours are long and often we do not leave until well after 10 pm, and for those with families, as we have heard, finding a balance can be difficult. There have been recent improvements through the introduction of an in-house nursery and more family-friendly sitting hours. I thank the right hon. Member for Lewisham, Deptford (Dame Joan Ruddock), who worked hard and effectively to bring about that very important change. I also thank you, Mr Speaker, for your ongoing commitment to and determination on the issue of representation and the work you have done on so many fronts. Long may it continue.

Progress is welcome, but it has been very slow indeed and we cannot be complacent. We need women and diversity to be part of the system in order to change it. I am very proud to be a woman and from an ethnic minority background in this Government, who are committed to help instigate change.

The Government are committed to supporting parties that want to increase their talent pool and ensure that they better represent the electorate. In that respect, we have implemented the provisions of the Equality Act 2010, which enable political parties to use positive action in candidate selection, should they wish to do so. We have also extended the ability for parties to use women-only shortlists to 2030, and to reserve seats on electoral shortlists for those with particular under-represented characteristics. We have also secured commitments from the three main parties to provide greater transparency of candidate selection through the collection and publication of diversity data. I am very pleased that the main parties are acting on their agreement to publish the data ahead of the 2015 general election as an alternative to implementing section 106 of the Equality Act.

There has been real progress in getting more women into politics, and this is the most gender diverse Parliament ever. Currently 22.6% of MPs are women, up from 19.5% in 2010. Following the 2010 general election, there are now six Asian women MPs, whereas previously there were none. Five women attend Cabinet, with some 24 women in Government overall in the House of Commons and the House of Lords. In the September 2012 reshuffle, 12 of the new intake from the 2010 general election were promoted, six of whom were men and six of whom were women.

Despite this progress, we know that we still have a long way to go to achieve gender quality. That is why I am delighted that my hon. Friend the Member for Brentford and Isleworth (Mary Macleod), who chairs the all-party group on women in Parliament, has launched a very important inquiry into how to attract women into Parliament and public life and, just as importantly, how to retain them. I hope that everybody who cares about this issue will support the inquiry as much as they can.

In 2010, the number of ethnic minority MPs nearly doubled—it went up from 14 to 27—with 10 being women. That is Westminster’s biggest ever percentage increase and I want to ensure that that upward trend continues.

We also need to do as much as we can to attract people from different socio-economic backgrounds to enter politics—a point that was made very well indeed by my hon. Friend the Member for Brigg and Goole (Andrew Percy). It is worth noting that Mr Speaker’s parliamentary placement scheme, which is run through the Social Mobility Foundation, is specifically aimed at people from disadvantaged backgrounds. I am delighted that the Government have been able to support it. I also pay tribute to the right hon. Member for Salford and Eccles (Hazel Blears), who initiated the scheme with Mr Speaker. I am also pleased that it is being used as a model for a similar scheme in the Scottish Parliament.

In July 2012, we launched the access to elected office for disabled people strategy, which gives support to disabled people who want to get elected. As part of the strategy, the Government have delivered the access to elected office fund, which enables disabled candidates to meet the additional costs they face and thus compete with others on a level playing field. The fund has now been extended to cover the 2015 general election and local authority elections, as well as parish and town council elections, with an increased application limit of £40,000. That has been widely welcomed by disability charities up and down the country.

This has been a very well-managed, well-mannered and mature debate. It is a bit of a shame that the shadow Minister let the side down at the final hurdle in seeking to score fairly cheap, if I say it myself, political points on issues about which we all care. These are not Conservative, Labour or Liberal issues; they are issues for Parliament. We must not use them as party political footballs, but work together to get the situation right and continue to make improvements.

[Fiona Mactaggart]

rose—

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Fiona Mactaggart and Helen Grant

Tuesday 19th March 2013 Commons Chamber

[Fiona Mactaggart (Slough) (Lab)]

1. What assessment he has made of the value of the work done by women’s centres with women offenders; and if he will make a statement.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice (Mrs Helen Grant)]

Women’s centres are a key element in our approach to women in the criminal justice system. Since April 2012, we have been monitoring referrals made by probation trusts to the 31 women’s centres funded by the National Offender Management Service. Feedback indicates that users, staff and magistrates see the centres as a valuable resource.

[Fiona Mactaggart]

May I first declare an interest as chair of Commonweal, a charity that established the Re-Unite programme, which helps women offenders to reunite with their children when they come out of prison? The programme is run by many women’s centres and those we have been working with are anxious about their future funding and about the lack of strategy from the Ministry for women offenders and women in the criminal justice system. Will the Minister meet me, together with representatives from the women’s centres, to reassure them about future funding for the wonderful programmes they run?

[Mrs Grant]

I am happy to meet the hon. Lady, and I hope to reassure her. During the last few weeks, I have been visiting women’s centres around the country, in Gloucester, Reading and London, and I have been very impressed by what I have seen. Overall, I want to see more provision for women in areas where it does not exist at the moment. I also want existing provision in the centres deepened and strengthened further. Funding may be readjusted for some services; there has to be redistribution and some centres may have to do a little more with less, but I assure the hon. Lady that funding is continuing and we are increasing it by £300,000 for this financial year.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Fiona Mactaggart and Helen Grant

Tuesday 18th September 2012 Commons Chamber

[Fiona Mactaggart (Slough) (Lab)]

12. What estimate he has made of the number of women in prison who have been victims of domestic violence; and if he will make a statement.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice (Mrs Helen Grant)]

Estimating the number of women in prison who have been victims of domestic violence is difficult, as the information is not recorded centrally. However, surveys tell us that half of female prisoners report having been the victims of abuse of some kind. That includes abuse at any age, and is not necessarily domestic violence. The figures could also be a significant underestimate, as the hon. Lady knows, because admissions from victims of domestic violence are not always forthcoming.

[Fiona Mactaggart]

I warmly welcome the Minister to her responsibility; she is a rare creature who cares seriously about this issue in her bones and not just in her words. If it is right that half or more of women in prison have been victims of domestic violence, sexual abuse and other kinds of violence, should not those victims be diverted from the criminal justice system rather than incarcerated in it?

[Mrs Grant]

The hon. Lady is very knowledgeable on such matters, having worked hard and effectively for a number of years, campaigning for both victims of domestic violence and female offenders. It was to my absolute delight that I was given this brief as a new Minister by the Secretary of State and I hope to draw on some of my experience before I came to this place while I undertake the role. Tackling domestic violence and women’s offending are priorities for the Government and me, and I am delighted to note that the National Offender Management Service has been working very closely with Women’s Aid to develop policies, strategies and training to support women who are in prison and to identify domestic violence. Considerable work needs to be done and I look forward to working closely with the hon. Lady and other Labour Members to drive through change and make a difference in this area.

International Women’s Day

Debate between Fiona Mactaggart and Helen Grant

Thursday 8th March 2012 Commons Chamber

[Fiona Mactaggart]

Absolutely. In order to make more time for other speakers, I cut the bit of my speech that I had written in which I welcomed that, and I cut other things as well. I have frequently praised the Government for putting on a secure basis the funding for rape crisis centres, which used to arrive under the previous Government but was utterly unpredictable. That is the one thing that the Government have done that will make women safer, and I welcome it.

[Mrs Helen Grant (Maidstone and The Weald) (Con)]

Does the hon. Lady welcome Clare’s law?

[Fiona Mactaggart]

I do, and I welcome the efforts of my right hon. Friend the Member for Salford and Eccles (Hazel Blears) in championing it on behalf of her constituent who was a victim. I am glad that it will be brought in. In a way, I would have liked the announcements that were made today at some reception in Downing street to be made in this debate. The Government should have told us here what they were going to do, which would have provided an opportunity to debate their plans in the international women’s day debate.

As I was saying, removing from the DNA database the samples of men who have been accused but not convicted of rape, when we know both that convictions are hard to secure and that rape is a serial crime, is irresponsible. Other public sector cuts, from railway stations to street lights, will make neighbourhoods more frightening for women.

Here in Britain, a separate theme has been identified for international women’s day—“Connecting girls, inspiring futures”. I really wish that we offered girls here in Britain a more inspiring future, but I am afraid that this generation of young women will probably be the first to do less well than their mothers.