Written question asked by Lord Hylton (Crossbench), in the House of Lords. It was answered by Lord West of Spithead (Labour) on Tuesday, 30 October 2007.

People Trafficking

Question: asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether the United Kingdom Human Trafficking Centre has reached conclusions about the current level of trafficking adults and children into the United Kingdom for illegal exploitation; and whether their views will be published, including any provisional conclusions and proposals for preventing trafficking in countries of origin and transit.

Answer: Due to the covert nature of trafficking it is extremely difficult to gain a clear picture of the extent of the problem. The UK Human Trafficking Centre is working to produce the strategic assessment on trafficking for the Serious Organised Crime Agency's UK Threat Assessment. A public copy of this report is published every year. Pentameter two launched on 3 October will also provide valuable intelligence as to the current level of trafficking in the UK. This operation will be reviewed and conclusions on the operation will be made available. The UK Human Trafficking Centre holds a sub-group on prevention work for trafficking in source and transit countries and also in the UK. The sub-group is delivering some of the prevention actions within the UK Action Plan and will suggest further actions to be included in the action plan.

Secondary information