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16 Apr 2007 : Column 456W—continued
Human Trafficking
Mr. Steen: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 5 March 2007, Official Report, columns 1751-52W, on human trafficking, how many of those charged with offences relating to the trafficking of people in 2005 were (a) convicted and (b) foreign nationals. [127380]
Mr. Coaker [holding answer 15 March 2007]: Information on charging and the outcome of charging is not held within the Office for Criminal Justice Reform.
From data on the court proceedings database held by the Office for Criminal Justice Reform, the following table shows the number of persons proceeded against at magistrates courts and found guilty at all courts for various offences relating to trafficking of people in England and Wales, 2005.
These data are not related to data previously provided by the Crown Prosecution Services (CPS) for PQ 122478 answered 5 March 2007, Official Report, columns 1751-52W. The court proceedings database does not hold data on the nationality of the defendant.
The figures previously provided in PQ 122478 refer to the number of offences charged that reach a first hearing. This is different from the number of persons proceeded against and is based on the principal offence only. Hence CPS figures for charging will be higher than our figures for proceeded against, and found guilty.
The CPS does not hold any information on the outcome of proceedings at specific offence level, only a count of the number of offences falling under specific acts and sections of Acts.
CPS systems do not include an analysis of the nationality of defendants.
Mr. Bone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will bring forward proposals to establish a UK Commissioner on Human Trafficking. [127927]
Mr. Coaker: We recognise the need for a more formalised identification and referral procedure and a referral mechanism will be developed as part of the implementation of the Council of Europe Convention. Further consideration will need to be given as to the most suitable structure and agency for operating this process. The model adopted will take into account existing best practice and the need to tailor any system to suit the national circumstances of the United Kingdom.
Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many beds are provided by the Poppy Project; and what the percentage occupancy figures were for these beds in each of the last six months. [128518]
Mr. Coaker: The Government fund the Poppy project to provide an outreach service and 35 bed-spaces, of which 25 are crisis intensive support places and 10 are resettlement places. Women who apply for asylum continue to be supported by the Poppy project but are accommodated by the National Asylum Support Service. This helps to free crisis spaces for new referrals.
Additionally, there are a number of independently funded voluntary organisations that are able to accommodate and support victims of human trafficking for sexual exploitation.
The Government published a UK Action Plan on Tackling Human Trafficking on 23 March 2007. This outlines a range of measures to help improve the identification and referral of victims.
The table details the bed-space occupancy figures for the Poppy project in the last six months.
| Percentage of Poppy project bed-spaces occupied in the last six months | |
| Percentage of bed-spaces occupied (out of 35) | |
Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when the Minister expects the UK to ratify the Council of Europe Convention against Trafficking in Human Beings. [130320]
Mr. Coaker [holding answer 27 March 2007]: The Home Secretary signed the Council of Europe Convention on 26 March and we are now beginning to develop details on how implementation will be taken forward.
It will inevitably take some time to move from signature to ratification of the Convention. Unlike some of our Council of Europe colleagues the UK will not ratify the Convention until all changes to domestic legislation, processes and guidance are in place to ensure that we fully comply with its terms.
Human Trafficking: Wales
Mr. Bone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate he has made of the number of people trafficked into Wales in each of the last three years; and if he will make a statement. [127928]
Mr. Coaker: We are not fully aware of the extent and nature of trafficking into the United Kingdom.
Home Office research suggests that in 2003 in the United Kingdom there were approximately 4,000 women who were victims of human trafficking for the purposes of sexual exploitation. There are no available regionalised figures, however the initial findings from Operation Pentameter suggest that the problem is not confined solely to England as the recent case at Cardiff Crown indicates.
As stated in the UK’s Action Plan on tackling Human Trafficking, copies of which I have placed in the Library of the House, we intend to carry out further research to establish the scale and extent of the problem within our borders in relation to trafficking both for sexual and non-sexual purposes.
Hunting: Yorkshire and Humberside
Mrs. Riordan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many hunts in Yorkshire have been prosecuted for breaking the law since the hunting with dogs ban was introduced. [130407]
Mr. McNulty: The Hunting Act 2004 came into effect on 18 February 2005.
Data from the court proceedings database held by the Office for Criminal Justice reform show that there were no prosecutions in Yorkshire police force area for hunting a wild mammal with a dog under the Hunting Act 2004 Sections 1 and 6.
Identity Cards
Mr. Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to his answer of 7 February 2007, Official Report, column 987W, on identity cards, what charges will be made for verification through the Employer Verification Service; and what the features will be of the proposed enhanced service. [127881]
John Reid: Employers are not being charged for the Employer Verification Service during the initial development period.
We are engaging with organisations in the piloting of the service. Through this activity, and through planned market research, we will identify what enhancements employers would like to see from any future services and what would benefit them. We will continue to keep this matter under review.
Identity Cards: Newspaper Press
Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department to how many local papers Ministers in his Department have written on identity cards; and at what cost. [129659]
Joan Ryan: I, or Ministerial colleagues, have written 56 letters to local newspapers since 14 November 2006, including letters that may have been printed in more than one local publication that forms part of a larger newspaper group. These letters have clarified the Government's proposals for introducing interviews for first-time passport applicants together with the plans for the National Identity Scheme, including identity cards. They have been in response to a number of local press articles or letters to the newspapers’ editors. The cost has not been separately identified as it forms part of our routine work.
Illegal Immigrants
Mrs. Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many individuals were taken into police custody in England and Wales suspected of being illegal immigrants during January 2007. [123961]
Mr. Byrne: The information requested regarding the immigration status of all those arrested is not collated centrally by the Office for Criminal Justice Reform. Records are not broken down by police force and therefore an answer to this question could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Illegal Immigrants: Northern Ireland
Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent estimate he has made of the number of people who are living in Northern Ireland illegally; how many were so living in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement on the steps being taken by his Department to reduce the number. [125063]
Mr. Byrne [holding answer 2 March 2007]: As my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary set out in his evidence to the Home Affairs Select Committee on 23 May 2006, no Government have been able to produce an accurate figure for the number of people who are in the United Kingdom, including Northern Ireland, illegally, and that remains the case.
Illegal Immigrants: Prostitution
Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate he has made of the number of female illegal immigrants being forced to work in the sex industry in (a) England and (b) Lancashire. [127099]
Mr. Coaker: Given the nature of problem it is difficult to estimate the extent and scale to which this crime takes place into, and within, the UK.
Home Office research suggests that in 2003 in the United Kingdom there were approximately 4,000 women who were victims of human trafficking for the purposes of sexual exploitation. Of these it is not known how many entered the UK illegally but intelligence suggests that many victims of trafficking for sexual exploitation enter the country legally. There are no available regionalised figures. However, the initial findings from Operation Pentameter suggest that the problem is not confined to solely the major conurbations.
As stated in the UK's Action Plan on Tackling Human Trafficking, copies of which I have placed in the Library of the House, we intend to carry out further research to establish the scale and extent of the problem within our borders.
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