---

HOME DEPARTMENT

Prostitution (Public Consultation)

The Secretary of State for the Home Department (Mr. David Blunkett): "Paying the Price: A Public Consultation Paper on Prostitution" was published today. Copies have been placed in the Library and are available from the Home Office website at: http://www. homeoffice.gov.uk/inside/consults/index

Prostitution can have devastating consequences for those involved and for the wider community. It involves the abuse of children and the serious exploitation of adults. Violence and problematic drug use are common features and there are increasing links with trafficking and other types of organised crime. This consultation paper is the starting point for the development of a realistic and coherent strategy to deal with prostitution and its serious detrimental consequences for individuals and communities.

The paper seeks examples of innovative and effective ways to prevent the circumstances that make young people vulnerable to coercion into prostitution. Around 70 per cent. of those involved in prostitution started at a young age. Exploring the role for schools and considering ways to support those families where children and teenagers are vulnerable to coercion are key questions on which the paper seeks views.

The paper also asks questions about the delivery of justice. The prosecution of child abusers and exploiters is the best way to protect vulnerable people. The Sexual Offences Act 2003 began the process of law reform with the introduction of new offences and tough penalties for those who exploit anyone for the purposes of prostitution or pornography. The new measures in the Sexual Offences Act 2003 must be rigorously enforced, and an intelligence-based approach to investigations developed, if we are to combat the stranglehold of pimps and break the links between prostitution and drugs markets, trafficking and other areas of organised crime. The paper sets out examples of good investigative
 
16 Jul 2004 : Column 85WS
 
practice and describes the new measures in the Domestic Violence, Crime and Victims Bill which will strengthen the protection for those abused by their pimp partners. The paper lays out experiences across the world and encourages further examples of good practice to be provided during the consultation.

The civil and criminal law, along with environmental measures, is also considered in the paper. Communities suffer from the harassment of local residents, from noise and litter, and from the antisocial behaviour and criminality that is often associated with street prostitution. There are key questions to be addressed on how communities, through crime and disorder reduction partnerships and other forums can be given help and advice on developing effective preventative measures and support to safeguard their neighbourhoods.

Law reform is a crucial first step but it is widely recognised that enforcement alone is not the complete answer. Support for those trapped in exploitation through prostitution is also crucial. Providing a route out is the best long-term solution for those involved and for the communities that suffer from the nuisance and criminality associated with prostitution. The paper asks questions about the way in which protection and support can be provided most effectively. Also published today is a Home Office research study report, "Tackling Street Prostitution: Towards an Holistic Approach" which draws out good practice from eleven Crime Reduction Programme pilot projects. The challenge for the provision of effective exit strategies is for local services to work together to address the whole spectrum of issues faced by individuals trapped in prostitution. This often includes the need for drug treatment, advice and treatment for other health needs, housing, education and employment opportunities. The paper seeks views on how this can best be achieved.

Members of the House are invited to contribute to the review with information on how prostitution has affected individuals and their families, and local
 
16 Jul 2004 : Column 86WS
 
communities in their constituencies, and with examples of how prevention, protection and support, and the delivery of justice have been tackled. Consultation will be open for four months during which time my Department will be arranging discussion opportunities on all these issues with a wide range of key stakeholders, including those directly involved in prostitution. It is important to hear the views of all those with an interest in this complex and sensitive area, and the paper contains a set of key questions for consideration. Responses from Members of this House, and from the wider public, will enable positive local experiences to feed into the development of a clear and coherent national strategy to achieve, and sustain, a real impact on the issues arising from prostitution.

MINISTRY OF DEFENCE

United Kingdom Gulf Veterans' Mortality Data

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Defence (Mr Ivor Caplin): As part of the Government's continuing commitment to investigate Gulf veterans' illnesses openly and honestly, data on the mortality of veterans of the 1990–91 Gulf conflict are regularly published. The most recent figures for the period 1 April 1991 to 30 June 2004, were published on 14 July 2004. The tables from that publication are set out below. Table 1 gives the causes of death to UK Gulf veterans over that period; table 2 shows the deaths due to malignant cancers among Gulf veterans. As with previous information, the data for Gulf veterans are compared to that of a control group known as the Era cohort which is made up of Armed Forces personnel of a similar age, gender, service, regular/reservist status and rank who were not deployed to the Gulf.

Key points to note are:

there were 663 deaths among Gulf veterans up to 30 June 2004 compared to 675 in the Era comparison group; and

approximately 1,032 deaths would have been expected in a similar sized group taken from the general population of the UK with the same age and gender profile.

Table 1: Deaths to UK Gulf Veterans⁽¹⁾ April 1991–30 June 2004 Causes ⁽²⁾

ICD Chapter	Cause of death	Gulf	Era	MortalityRate Ratio	95% ConfidenceInterval
	All deaths	663	675	0.98	(0.88 -1.09)
	All cause coded deaths	647	652	0.99	(0.88 -1.10)
I–XVIII	Disease related causes	285	341	0.83	(0.71 -0.98)
I	Certain infectious and parasitic diseases	6	3	1.99	(0.43 -12.30)
II	Neoplasms	129	141	0.91	(0.71 -1.16)
V	Mental and behavioural disorders	11	17	0.64	(0.27 -1.46)
VI	Diseases of the nervous system	10	11	0.90	(0.34 -2.35)
IX	Diseases of the circulatory system	97	121	0.80	(0.60 -1.05)
X	Diseases of the respiratory system	10	6	1.66	(0.55 -5.55)
XI	Diseases of the digestive system	16	23	0.69	(0.34 -1.37)
III, IV, XII–XVIII	All other disease related causes(3)	6	9	0.31	(0.10 -0.82)
XX	External causes of mortality	362	311	1.16	(0.99 -1.35)
	Transport accidents:	167	127	1.31	(1.03 -1 66)
	Land transport accident:(4)	136	106	1.28	(0.98 -1.66)
	Pedestrian	16	6	2.65	(0.99 -8.28)
	Motorcycle rider	34	28	1.21	(0.71 -2.07)
	Car occupant	42	30	1.39	(0.85 -2.31)
	Other(4)	44	42	1.04	(0.67 -1.63)
	Water transport	5	1	4.98	(0.56 235.33)
	Air and space transport	26	20	1.29	(0.69 -2.44)
	Other external causes of accidental injury:	67	59	1.13	(0.78 -1.63)
	Falls	7	6	1.16	(0.33 -4.18)
	Exposure to inanimate mechanical forces	12	14	0.85	(0.36 -1.99)
	Accidental drowning and submersion and other accidental threats to breathing	13	6	216	(0.76 -6.92)
	Accidental poisoning by and exposure to noxious substances	15	15	1.00	(0.45 -2.18)
	Accidental exposure to other and unspecified factors	16	12	1.33	(0.59 -3.07)
	Other	4	6	0.66	(0.14 -2.80)
	Intentional self-harm and events of undetermined intent(5)	12	110	1.09	(0.84 -1.43)
	Assault	5	9	0.55	(0.15 -1.84)
	Legal intervention and operations of war	2	2	1.00	(0.07 -13.73)
	Sequelae of external causes of morbidity and mortality	0	2	0.00	(0.00 -5.30)
	Deaths where the inquest has been Adjourned	0	2
	Other deaths for which cause data are not yet available	12	19
	Overseas deaths for which cause data are not available	4	4

Notes:
⁽¹⁾ Service and Ex-Service personnel only.
⁽²⁾ Causes have been coded to the World Health Organisation's International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems, 10th revision (ICD-10), 1992.
⁽³⁾ Includes cases with insufficient information on the death certificate to provide a known cause of death.
⁽⁴⁾ Under ICD-10 coding if the death certificate does not specifically mention the type of vehicle that was involved in the accident, thedeath is coded to "motor- or nonmotor vehicle accident, type of vehicle unspecified". (35 deaths to gulf veterans compared to 33 in theEra group.)
⁽⁵⁾ These events have been given a coroners verdict of suicide or open verdict death. It includes one death whichhas been coded to F11.1 by ONS. This death has been excluded from the mental and behavioural disorders.



 
16 Jul 2004 : Column 87WS
 

Table 2: Deaths to UK Gulf veterans due to neoplasms: 1 April 1991–30 June 2004 Major cancer sites and specific sites with at least five deaths in one of the cohorts

ICD	Cancer site	Gulf	Era	Mortality Rate Ratio	95% ConfidenceInterval
C00–D48	Neoplasms	129	141	0.91	(0.71 -1.16)
C00–C99	Malignant Neoplasms (MN)	126	138	0.91	(0.71 -1.17)
C00–C14	MN of lip, oral cavity and pharynx	6	4	1.49	(0.35 -7.19)
C15–C26, C48	MN of digestive organs and peritoneum	29	35	0.82	(0.49 -1.39)
C15	MN of oesophagus	9	5	1.79	(0.54 -6.80)
C18	MN of colon	4	14	0.28	(0.07 -0.91)
C25	MN of pancreas	5	6	0.83	(0.20 -3.26)
C30-C39, C45	MN of respiratory and intrathoracic organs	19	30	0.63	(0.34 -1.57)
C34	MN of bronchus and lung	16	26	0.61	(0.31 -1.19)
C40–C44, C47, C49–C50	MN of bone, connective tissue, skin and breast	15	12	1.24	(0.54 -2.91)
C43	Malignant melanoma of skin	7	5	1.39	(0.38 -5.57)
C51–C68	MN of genitourinary organs	5	7	0.71	(0.18 -2.60)
C69–C80	MN of other and unspecified sites	26	34	0.76	(0.44 -1.31)
C71	MN of brain	17	20	0.85	(0.42 -1.70)
C80	MN without specification of site	8	11	0.72	(0.25 -1.98)
C81–C96	MN of lymphatic and haematopoietic tissue	26	16	1.62	(0.84 -3.23)
C81–C85, C91.4, C96	Lymphomas	13	9	1.44	(0.57 -3.81)
C82–C85, C91.4, C96	Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma	9	6	1.49	(0.47 -5.10)
C91–C95 excl C91.4	Leukaemias	11	6	1.82	(0.62 -6.01)
C92	Myeloid leukaemia	8	4	1.99	(0.53 -9.03)
D00–D48	In situ neoplasms, benign neoplasms and neoplasms of uncertain behaviour or unspecified nature	3	3	1.00	(0.13 -7.43)

---