Written question asked by Jeremy Browne (Liberal Democrat) on Thursday, 25 May 2006, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 5 June 2006. It was answered by Lord Coaker (Labour) on Tuesday, 20 June 2006 on behalf of the Home Office.

People Trafficking

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he plans to expand the Poppy scheme for victims of human sex trafficking.

Answer: In April the Home Office entered into a two-year, £2.4 million funding agreement with Eaves Housing for Women for the expansion of the Poppy project. This funding will not only provide for the existing crisis provision service for up to 25 women, it will also meet the costs of 10 additional ““step-down”” places which will help the women to live semi-independently with less intensive support, and the development of a resource pack for victims, service providers and law enforcement agency staff. It will also introduce the first ever specialist national outreach service in the UK for victims trafficked into sexual exploitation. Whilst the project remains London based it will continue to take referrals from across the country and provide a national service. We are currently looking at how best to utilise other existing local service providers to support victims and will continue to consider the feasibility of further extending the Poppy model of support to other areas in the future.

Secondary information