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.

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.