Oral question asked in the House of Commons, by Alan Simpson (Labour). It was answered on Tuesday, 12 January 2010 on behalf of the Department of Health.

Trafficked Women

Question: I doubt whether anyone can match the hon. Member for Totnes (Mr. Steen) for the work he has done on this issue, but my limited experience of it prompts me to ask whether the interface that trafficked women have with health services in the voluntary sector can be assisted by overcoming the linguistic barriers, which are part of the problem. In many cases there is a heavy dependence on people who are themselves part of refugee communities to act as translators. Often, they have real difficulties facing the Home Office when addressing their own problems regarding deportation. Will the Minister ask for a coherent interface between key workers and those within the refugee communities in that process, to ease the problems that those women face?

Answer: My hon. Friend raises some more excellent points. Those areas are covered by the research and the report's findings, and we are working across Government with other Ministers, particularly Home Office Ministers, to address that very point.

Secondary information