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Baroness Scotland of Asthal: Prostitution in whichever form is a matter of acute concern to the Government. We are currently reviewing our whole strategy in relation to prostitution generally. I can certainly say to the noble Earl that the prostitution of male and female victims is a matter of concern to the Government. I cannot tell the Committee precisely what if any projects relate specifically to male prostitution. If I have that information, I am more than happy to write to the noble Earl about it.
I can also agree with the noble Lord, Lord Hylton, that all of those who claim to be a victim of trafficking should be cared for. However, I cannot agree that an extended period of reflection should be granted to all of them to decide what they wish to do next or that residence permits should be granted to those who agree to co-operate with the appropriate authorities. In making that response I am mindful of the comments in the report from the European Parliament—the noble Lord kindly provided us with an outline of it.
One of our first difficulties with this proposed new clause is related to determining when a person is "trafficked", a point highlighted also by the noble
Baroness, Lady Anelay. For example, would a person who, with a view to getting to the United Kingdom, pays another person to facilitate his arrival here be "trafficked" in the same way as a person who is brought to the UK by another person with a view to exploiting him or her either sexually or otherwise? In the first scenario, the facilitator could be prosecuted under Section 25 of the 1971 Act, but in the second scenario it would seem to be more appropriate to charge with the offence in Clause 4 of the Bill or the relevant offence in the Sexual Offences Act 2003.I have always taken it that the noble Lord, Lord Hylton, and other noble Lords who have spoken on this issue have been addressing the second category—those who are trafficked for exploitation.
Lord Hylton: If the noble Baroness will forgive me, I think I have in mind both categories and not simply the latter.
Baroness Scotland of Asthal: Can I take it, then, that the noble Lord believes that someone who wishes to come to this country for gain and who pays a trafficker to get him to this country—after which he is free to go about his business in employment and to make a home, and is not under the direct control of the trafficker—should also be given a period of reflection? I had not understood that that is what the noble Lord intended.
Lord Hylton: The key point is that of leaving the control of the trafficker. That is what the European Parliament refers to and what others, I think, have had in mind.
Baroness Scotland of Asthal: That is the point I am seeking to make. The noble Lord is thinking of a situation where someone is trafficked for exploitation or gain and kept within the control of the trafficker. I understood that that was the mischief that the noble Lord was particularly anxious to address. With respect, I agree with him. However, the definition of "trafficking" enables one to describe someone as having been trafficked even if they have paid willingly for that to be facilitated and they themselves have derived from it a direct benefit or advantage. That is the difficulty.
I have given the example of a person who pays another to facilitate his arrival here to be trafficked in the same way as a person who is brought to the United Kingdom. We think that there is a distinction between the two. Our point is that "trafficking" is a very vague term with no specific legal meaning as far as we can discern. In particular, we are aware that the definition of "trafficking" in Article 3 of the Trafficking Protocol to the UN Convention Against Transnational Organised Crime states that trafficking can take place regardless of whether the passenger consents. In that sense, it could refer to the example given by the noble Earl, Lord Russell, of someone who was trafficked almost as if they had no choice because the choice had been made by their families or by others in control. By the same token, however, it can also involve someone who genuinely consents and uses the trafficker simply as a means of getting here.
Article 3 of the Trafficking Protocol to the UN Convention Against Transnational Organised Crime makes that clear. If that were the case, the amendment would give benefits to the person cited in my first example. That seems unreasonable given that the "victim" in that scenario was likely to have wanted to get here in the first place and may even have paid for the service.
In addition to the absence of clarity on the definition of trafficking, there is currently a lack of hard data on the scale and extent of the problem and on the effects of measures designed to counter it, such as introducing reflection periods. We therefore believe that more evidence is required before measures such as those proposed by the noble Lord could realistically be considered. However, I want to reassure him that we also want to address the mischief that he wishes to address. There is no difference in our purpose, but there is a difference in how we can do it and when we will have the empirical data to make the sort of informed decision that we need to make.
With regard to the period of reflection, very real fears remain that such a process would be subject to abuse. Rather than providing a time for those who have genuinely been traumatised to recover and consider what steps to take next, it is feared that it will be seized upon by the unscrupulous to delay their removal from the United Kingdom and to make good their disappearance. In addition, large numbers of victims making false claims of having been trafficked would stretch support services to the extent that provision for genuine cases may suffer. That would not be in the interests of genuine victims.
That is not to say that we do not offer protection to those in genuine need; we do. There is existing provision within current United Kingdom immigration legislation for the exercise of discretion to hold removal action in abeyance in specific circumstances. It is also the case that all relevant information, including previous co-operation with the authorities and the likelihood that a person has put themselves or their family at risk from reprisals in their country of origin, is considered when assessing any application to enter or remain in the United Kingdom. Given this existing flexibility, we do not see the value in a blanket requirement on parties to introduce measures along the lines proposed.
So when I say that we approach this on a case-by-case basis, that is very important. No two of these cases are exactly the same. What we have to do to support one case we may not have to do in another. Issuing a residence permit to victims would hamper the Immigration Service's ability to take action against those who have entered the country illegally, even in cases where it has been shown that their application was fraudulent and the offer of co-operation was unfulfilled. The diversion of resources into investigating such wrongful or unsupported claims would have a significant impact on our ability to take action against traffickers.
The report from the Committee on Citizens' Freedoms and Rights of the European Parliament relates to the proposed EU directive seeking the issue of short-term residence permits for both the victims of trafficking and
those who have been the subject of an action to facilitate illegal immigration who co-operate with the authorities. In effect, it will benefit not only the woman who is kidnapped and brought here to work in the most brutal of circumstances—whom we believe none of us would hesitate to describe as a victim deserving of our help and assistance—but also someone who paid a lorry driver to hide him in the back of his wagon so that he might enter the United Kingdom and seek illegal employment, as long as that individual decides to provide evidence against those who helped him.We do not believe that the latter could properly be described as a "victim" in quite the same way as the former. We think that the diversion of resources to help such cases would be an unwelcome development. It is for that very reason—and the potentially considerable number of cases to which it could apply—that the United Kingdom decided not to opt-in to that directive. I understand that the directive is undergoing some revision, and I can assure noble Lords that we will consider our position once a final draft is produced and adopted. We remain absolutely committed to combating and preventing all forms of human trafficking and to providing appropriate support to the victims of such abuse. But we do not think that we can adopt these particular proposals now.
The noble Lord, Lord Hylton, raised the issue of what guidance was given to staff in relation to trafficking. We have a trafficking toolkit that is available to all staff, especially immigration officers, to help them to identify victims of trafficking. The Committee will know that training is provided, but I cannot stand here and guarantee that absolutely every immigration officer to whom we have given proper training and the toolkit will use it appropriately on each and every occasion. I wish that I had the power to do so. All I can tell the Committee is that we will use our best endeavours to ensure that appropriate training and advice and the toolkit are made available for use. Whether immigration officers follow instruction seems very much to be a matter for themselves.
7.30 p.m.
Lord Hylton: I am extremely grateful to those noble Lords who were kind enough to add their names to my amendment. I also express my thanks to all noble Lords who have taken part in this short debate, which was helpful to me at least, for the degree of support and sympathy that I received from nearly all quarters. The wider ramifications of the question have been well brought out tonight. I am also grateful to the Minister for the spirit in which she gave her complicated and analytical response. She also brought out the great complexity of the subject matter. I am grateful to her for a number of the things that she said. I realise that my amendment is perhaps premature and that its wording is almost certainly inadequate. At this time of the night, given the probability of needing to come back to this at the next stage, I beg leave to withdraw the amendment.
Amendment, by leave, withdrawn.
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