Modern Slavery Bill

Lord McColl of Dulwich Excerpts

Monday 1st December 2014 Lords Chamber

Moved by

[Lord McColl of Dulwich]

31: After Clause 4, insert the following new Clause—
“Paying for sexual services
(1) The Sexual Offences Act 2003 is amended as follows.
(2) For section 53A (paying for sexual services of a prostitute subjected to force etc) substitute—
“53A Paying for sexual services of a person
(1) A person (A) commits an offence if A obtains sexual services from a person (B) in exchange for payment—
(a) if the payment is made or promised by A; or(b) if the payment is made or promised by a third party.(2) A person guilty of an offence under this section is liable—
(a) on summary conviction to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 6 months or a fine not exceeding level 3 on the standard scale, or both;(b) on conviction on indictment to imprisonment for a term not exceeding one year or a fine not exceeding the statutory maximum, or both.(3) For the avoidance of doubt, person B is not guilty of aiding, abetting or counselling the commission of an offence under this section.”
(3) The Secretary of State shall, at least once in every year, publish a strategy, to ensure that a programme of assistance and support is made available to a person who wishes to leave prostitution.”

[Lord McColl of Dulwich (Con)]

Amendment 31 would make it an offence to pay for the sexual services of a person. This is to address the demand for commercial sex, which feeds the trafficking of individuals, particularly women and girls, into and within the United Kingdom.

Both the Council of Europe convention and the EU directive on trafficking call for states to adopt measures to address the demand for exploitation that fosters trafficking. National referral mechanism statistics clearly demonstrate that since 2009 paid sex has consistently been the most prevalent form of exploitation experienced by victims of trafficking in the United Kingdom. It accounts for around 40% of victims and around 60% of female victims. The National Crime Agency strategic threat assessment of the nature and scale of human trafficking, published in September, reports victims being sexually exploited in brothels, in hotels, on the streets and in private residences. The NCA report is clear that of all forms of trafficking identified in this country, sexual exploitation is the most prevalent.

The Government have taken steps to address the demand for labour exploitation through the supply chains provision—which of course I completely welcome and support—but what are we doing to address the demand for sexual exploitation? In 2009 I supported the introduction of Section 14 of the Policing and Crime Act, which made it an offence to pay for sex with someone who is coerced. This might sound like the perfect solution but it has not worked in practice. Evidence of that was clear from those who contributed to an all-party parliamentary group inquiry, of which I was part, which ran from 2013 to 2014. We published our report in March this year and I encourage noble Lords to review its findings. The number of convictions under this offence has been very low. In 2012-13 there was not a single prosecution or conviction. This offence has not done what we hoped it would do.

In considering the law on prostitution our all-party group heard evidence that a Section 14 offence is complex and difficult to prove, and we concluded:

“There are inadequate deterrents for individuals controlling others in prostitution for gain and for those deriving demand from the sex trade. This promotes the UK as a lucrative destination for trafficking with the purpose of sexual exploitation, both domestically and internationally”.

I for one certainly do not want this country to be considered a lucrative destination for traffickers, and I am sure many noble Lords would agree.

I want to set out why I think Amendment 31 is the best option. In 2009 research in London with 103 men who buy sex, 77% of them agreed that a greater criminal penalty would deter them from purchasing sex, while only 47% said that they would be deterred by being required to attend an educational programme. There is strong international evidence that this offence can work, not only by reducing the instance of prostitution and deterring trafficking but, vitally, by creating a culture change, which is the main contributor to reducing demand.

--- Later in debate ---

I thank all noble Lords for this debate on a very important and controversial issue. We consider this a most serious and important topic. However, as my noble friend Lord Deben and other noble Lords indicated, the Bill is not the right place to make so sweeping a change. There is such welcome cross-party support for tackling the abhorrent crime of modern slavery that we would not wish to extend the Bill to a provision which, as we have heard, draws different points of view from around the Committee. However, I assure the House that we will continue to work with our partners to keep all options for improving protection from exploitation under review. In light of these assurances, I hope that my noble friend will feel able to withdraw his amendment.

[Lord McColl of Dulwich]

I thank everyone for taking part in this splendid debate. The contributions have been outstanding. I am sure that this is not the Bill for putting this into law. However, there is no doubt in my mind that it eventually will become law. The wind of change is blowing through the western world—Sweden, Norway, Iceland, Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland, Canada and France. King Canute was not actually trying to keep the tide from coming in; he was trying to show his sycophantic followers that he was unable to do so. I beg leave to withdraw.

Amendment 31 withdrawn.