Asked by: Carolyn Harris (Labour - Swansea East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the timetable is for his next steps in bringing forward a draft Domestic Abuse Bill.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
On 8 March we launched a 12 week public consultation on proposals for a landmark domestic abuse Bill and a supporting package of practical action to transform the response to domestic abuse. The consultation closed on 31 May. Over 3,200 responses to the consultation were received. The responses to the consultation are being considered and a draft Bill will be published later this session.
Asked by: Carolyn Harris (Labour - Swansea East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what support the Government provides to women wanting to exit prostitution.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
The Government is committed to tackling the harm and exploitation that can be associated with prostitution, and believes that people who want to leave prostitution should be given every opportunity to find routes out.
Protecting those involved in prostitution is a strand of our wider work to eradicate violence against women and girls, and we regularly meet with charities, welfare organisations and academics to discuss current issues related to prostitution.
The Government has provided over £2m to organisations supporting those involved in prostitution, including £650,000 from the Violence Against Women and Girls Service Transformation Fund to Merseyside PCC, to provide a victim-focused service for those who are victims, or at risk of sexual or domestic violence and abuse, exploitation or human trafficking.
As set out in the response to the Home Affairs Select Committee, the Government recognises the need for research into the nature and prevalence of prostitution in England and Wales. The Home Office has therefore provided £150,000 to fund this research, which is being carried out by the University of Bristol, and will help to inform future policy.
Asked by: Carolyn Harris (Labour - Swansea East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps he is taking to tackle organised sexual exploitation.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
The Government’s focus remains on protecting those selling sex from harm and enabling the police to target those who exploit vulnerable people involved in prostitution. To this end, the Government has provided over £2m to organisations supporting those involved in prostitution and sex work, including £650,000 from the Violence Against Women and Girls Service Transformation Fund to Merseyside PCC, to provide a victim-focused service for sex workers who are victims, or at risk of sexual or domestic violence and abuse, exploitation or human trafficking.
The Government recognises the need for research on the nature and prevalence of prostitution before we consider any changes to underlying legislation and policy and have committed £150,000 to fund a research project being undertaken by the University of Bristol.
To support the police to tackle organised sex-trafficking and other forms of modern slavery, the Government has provided £8.5m of additional funding to the police in England and Wales to provide bespoke and dedicated modern slavery capabilities. This police activity is supported at a national level by the National Crime Agency who lead multiagency operations to target key thematic slavery and trafficking threats including organised sexual exploitation.
Asked by: Carolyn Harris (Labour - Swansea East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many confirmed victims of human trafficking have been subsequently re-trafficked after they have left the National Referral Mechanism.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
The Government is committed to supporting potential victims of modern slavery to rebuild their lives.
There are a number of practical reasons why the Government is unable to provide an accurate figure for the number of confirmed victims who have been re-trafficked after leaving the National Referral Mechanism. For example, some victims may not wish to maintain contact when they leave the National Referral Mechanism.
We are working with the National Crime Agency to improve our ability to identify potential re-trafficking cases. Our reforms to introduce a new digital referral process and to provide access to ‘drop-in’ services for 6 months after confirmed victims have left Government-funded support will also improve our ability to identify re-trafficking for this cohort of victims.
Asked by: Carolyn Harris (Labour - Swansea East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 26 June 2018 to Question 154594, whether the next meeting of the Modern Slavery Strategy and Implementation Group has been arranged; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
The Modern Slavery Strategy and Implementation Group (MSSIG), brings together key stakeholders including civil society to support the implementation of the Government’s modern slavery strategy.
The group meets quarterly. The last meeting took place on 24 October 2017. Unfortunately, the meeting scheduled for May 2018 was postponed. The next meeting will take place shortly after recess on 10 September.
Asked by: Carolyn Harris (Labour - Swansea East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the timetable is for his next steps in bringing forward a draft Domestic Abuse Bill.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
On 8 March we launched a 12 week public consultation on proposals for a landmark domestic abuse Bill and a supporting package of practical action to transform the response to domestic abuse. The consultation closed on 31 May. Over 3,200 responses to the consultation were received. The responses to the consultation are being considered and a draft Bill will be published later this session.
Asked by: Carolyn Harris (Labour - Swansea East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps he is taking to help reduce demand for commercial sexual exploitation.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
The UK has some of the toughest anti-trafficking laws in the world and is committed to protecting victims and pursuing the slavery gangs behind this abhorrent trade to prevent further exploitation in the future.
In terms of reducing demand for commercial sexual services, the Government recognises the need for research on the nature and prevalence of prostitution before we consider any changes to underlying legislation and policy and have committed £150,000 to fund a research project being undertaken by the University of Bristol. The Government’s focus remains on protecting those selling sex from harm and enabling the police to target those who exploit vulnerable people involved in prostitution.
To support the police to tackle organised sex-trafficking and other forms of modern slavery, the Government has provided £8.5m of additional funding to the police in England and Wales to provide bespoke and dedicated modern slavery capabilities. This police activity is supported at a national level by the National Crime Agency who lead multiagency operations to target key thematic slavery and trafficking threats including organised sexual exploitation.
The increased law enforcement activity against the slavery gangs extends to preventing the use of the internet to facilitate sex trafficking. The NCA, supported by Government, is leading multi-agency work to investigate, disrupt and prevent online sex trafficking facilitated via commercial sex websites.
Asked by: Carolyn Harris (Labour - Swansea East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps he is taking to combat organised sexual exploitation.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
The UK has some of the toughest anti-trafficking laws in the world and is committed to protecting victims and pursuing the slavery gangs behind this abhorrent trade to prevent further exploitation in the future.
In terms of reducing demand for commercial sexual services, the Government recognises the need for research on the nature and prevalence of prostitution before we consider any changes to underlying legislation and policy and have committed £150,000 to fund a research project being undertaken by the University of Bristol. The Government’s focus remains on protecting those selling sex from harm and enabling the police to target those who exploit vulnerable people involved in prostitution.
To support the police to tackle organised sex-trafficking and other forms of modern slavery, the Government has provided £8.5m of additional funding to the police in England and Wales to provide bespoke and dedicated modern slavery capabilities. This police activity is supported at a national level by the National Crime Agency who lead multiagency operations to target key thematic slavery and trafficking threats including organised sexual exploitation.
The increased law enforcement activity against the slavery gangs extends to preventing the use of the internet to facilitate sex trafficking. The NCA, supported by Government, is leading multi-agency work to investigate, disrupt and prevent online sex trafficking facilitated via commercial sex websites.
Asked by: Carolyn Harris (Labour - Swansea East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what plans he has to tackle commercial websites that facilitate sexual exploitation.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
The UK has some of the toughest anti-trafficking laws in the world and is committed to protecting victims and pursuing the slavery gangs behind this abhorrent trade to prevent further exploitation in the future.
In terms of reducing demand for commercial sexual services, the Government recognises the need for research on the nature and prevalence of prostitution before we consider any changes to underlying legislation and policy and have committed £150,000 to fund a research project being undertaken by the University of Bristol. The Government’s focus remains on protecting those selling sex from harm and enabling the police to target those who exploit vulnerable people involved in prostitution.
To support the police to tackle organised sex-trafficking and other forms of modern slavery, the Government has provided £8.5m of additional funding to the police in England and Wales to provide bespoke and dedicated modern slavery capabilities. This police activity is supported at a national level by the National Crime Agency who lead multiagency operations to target key thematic slavery and trafficking threats including organised sexual exploitation.
The increased law enforcement activity against the slavery gangs extends to preventing the use of the internet to facilitate sex trafficking. The NCA, supported by Government, is leading multi-agency work to investigate, disrupt and prevent online sex trafficking facilitated via commercial sex websites.
Asked by: Carolyn Harris (Labour - Swansea East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps he is taking to help reduce demand for prostitution.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
The Government is committed to tackling the harm and exploitation that can be associated with prostitution, and believes that people who want to leave prostitution should be given every opportunity to find routes out.
Protecting those involved in prostitution is a strand of our wider work to eradicate violence against women and girls, and we regularly meet with charities, welfare organisations and academics to discuss current issues related to prostitution and sex work.
The Government has provided over £2m to organisations supporting sex workers, including £650,000 from the Violence Against Women and Girls Service Transformation Fund to Merseyside PCC, to provide a victim-focused service for sex workers who are victims, or at risk of sexual or domestic violence and abuse, exploitation or human trafficking.
As set out in the response to the Home Affairs Select Committee, the Government recognises the need for research into the nature and prevalence of prostitution in England and Wales. The Home Office has provided £150,000 to fund this research, which will be carried out by the University of Bristol, and will help inform future policy.