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Human Trafficking

We are considering it. As I said, ratification will be a significant milestone in the fight against the horrendous crime of trafficking, but it is only one stage in the ongoing battle against human trafficking. The Government have launched a series of offensives on different fronts as part of our wider anti-trafficking strategy. On 23 March 2007, the same day that we signed the convention, we signed the UK action plan on tackling human trafficking, which set out our national strategy and pulled together all the work under way across Government to combat the trafficking of adults and children domestically and internationally. The measure covers four key areas: enforcement, prevention, victim support and child trafficking. It also applies to trafficking for forced labour as well as other forms of human trafficking. The Government's commitment to enforcement is exemplified by the introduction of anti-trafficking laws that have resulted in a number of successful prosecutions. For example, since the commencement of the Sexual Offences Act 2003 on 1 May 2004, there have been 70 convictions for trafficking for the purpose of sexual exploitation. However, those convictions do not represent the full extent of prosecution of traffickers, who are often charged with other serious offences, including rape, false imprisonment and serious assault. In April 2006 we launched the Serious Organised Crime Agency, one of whose top priorities is the fight against human trafficking. To complement that work, we established in October 2006 the UK Human Trafficking Centre, which is tackling all forms of human trafficking as part of its remit. The police- led multi-agency centre was instrumental recently in the success of Operation Glover, which rescued 33 female victims aged between 12 and 15 who are believed to have been trafficked internally within the UK, and prosecuted and convicted a number of individuals. The case highlights the fact that human trafficking is not always about the movement of victims across international borders, but can involve the movement of UK nationals within the UK. In 2006 the first major national anti-trafficking operation took place. Operation Pentameter 1 was a great success, resulting in the rescue of 88 victims, 12 of whom were children. As a result, 232 arrests were made and 134 people were charged with a variety of offences. Following this operation the UK Human Trafficking Centre was set up. Pentameter 2, launched by the Home Secretary in October 2007, is another catalyst designed to assist police forces in developing their response in this area. Back in June 2005, the then Home Secretary, my right hon. Friend the Member for Norwich, South, wrote to chief constables setting out what forces' priorities should be in relation to organised crime. Organised immigration crime, including human trafficking, was the second priority after drugs. It will interest all hon. Members to know that we are discussing performance indicators as part of the new performance assessment framework for policing and community safety from April 2008. One of those indicators could relate to human trafficking. Work is under way with the Association of Chief Police Officers to improve the capability of the police and their partners to deliver effective protective services. The UK Human Trafficking Centre will assist in the development of law enforcement expertise and operational co-ordination, which will improve the proactive policing response. Intelligence from Pentameter 2 is already furthering our understanding of the nature and scale of trafficking across the UK. I do not want to spark a huge debate as I am trying to complete my speech within the next few minutes, but it may interest hon. Members to know that as part of Pentameter 2—for operational reasons which I understand, the police are reluctant to give too much information to us at present—according to Chief Constable Tim Brain who has done a fantastic job in this area, along with Chief Constable Grahame Maxwell, over 542 premises have so far been visited, a large percentage of which were residential, demonstrating the hidden nature of the crime. That is a significant change from some of what was happening in Pentameter 1. The number of arrests has already exceeded the number under Pentameter 1. Following the conclusion of Pentameter 2, the UKHTC in conjunction with SOCA will produce an updated strategic assessment—the hon. Member for Ashford asked about this—of the scale of human trafficking of adults and children in the UK. That will help us to improve on our previous research which, as he pointed out, indicated that there were 4,000 victims of trafficking for sexual exploitation in the UK in 2003, and it will help us to respond more accurately to the reality rather than the perception of the crime, and ensure that the counter-measures that we put in place are targeted and effective. Ratifying the Council of Europe convention will build on existing arrangements to provide a framework for minimum standards of support for all victims of trafficking. We are already doing considerable work. We have worked in partnership with the Poppy project to support adult women trafficked into the UK for sexual exploitation since 2003. We know that trafficking can have a devastating impact on a victim, and it is not enough simply to provide accommodation. That is why our UK action plan includes a range of measures to help identify and support victims and to try and prevent re-victimisation, which is crucial. A comprehensive victim strategy has been developed for Pentameter 2, in consultation with a range of stakeholders to ensure a consistent end-to-end approach. The campaign also provides an opportunity to develop local measures on trafficking. This includes scoping suitable service providers for victim support. The Poppy project, and the Tara project in Scotland, have been working with the UK Human Trafficking Centre and others to develop the capacity and expertise of other providers during the campaign. Following last year's campaign, the Salvation Army and the Medaille Trust established projects for victims. This year, partnerships are in place with a number of women's aid projects that cover areas such as Birmingham, Bradford, Sheffield, Leeds, Kirklees, Keele, Huddersfield and Harrogate. Is that enough? No, it is not. Is it an improvement on where we were? Yes it is, and we will make considerable progress. I think that the hon. Member for Ashford would agree that we have made a start and a move forward and have a positive statement to make to the House. The Government have also directed efforts towards combating child trafficking, one of the most abhorrent crimes of all. We have worked with the NSPCC.