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Consultation on UK’s First National Action Plan to Tackle Human Trafficking

5 January 2006

The Government’s commitment to tackle the appalling modern day slave trade of human trafficking moved up a gear today as Home Office Minister Paul Goggins launched a public consultation on a national action plan which will build upon existing tough anti-trafficking measures.

The consultation paper outlines the work the Government has done so far to tackle human trafficking, from legislation and law enforcement to support for victims, and proposes an action plan for areas of future work. This plan will take a comprehensive end-to-end approach covering the different elements of the anti-trafficking strategy:

• Prevention and demand reduction - including support for projects that tackle the causes of trafficking in source and transit countries;
• Investigating and prosecuting the traffickers - including raising the knowledge levels of the extent of the problem among police and frontline staff at home and abroad;
• Protection and support for victims - including exploring the possibility of providing border control agencies with profiles of trafficking victims to aid identification and appropriate support.

Paul Goggins said:

'Human trafficking, often for the purpose of sexual exploitation or forced labour, is an appalling crime and amounts to modern day slavery. It causes great harm, not just to the victims, but to our society as a whole.

'The Government is determined to tackle this terrible crime and reduce the harm it causes. Much work has already been done with the introduction of tough legislation, the Poppy Scheme to assist trafficking victims and Operation Reflex, our multi-agency task force on organised immigration crime. We have seen some recent successes such as a case heard at Southwark Crown Court last month where five men were sentenced to 63 years for people trafficking and controlling prostitution, but we need to do more.

'This new consultation builds on the work we drove forward during our Presidency of the EU last year in developing an EU Action Plan to tackle trafficking. This was agreed by member states in December and was a major success of our Presidency.

'There are many practitioners and organisations who have valuable experience of this issue from developing prevention measures to protecting and supporting victims. I would urge all of them to use this opportunity to give us their views on where we need to focus our efforts and build upon the work that we are already undertaking to reduce the harm caused.'

Dr Tim Brain, Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) lead on prostitution and related vice matters and Chief Constable of Gloucestershire Constabulary, said:

'ACPO welcomes the Action Plan, which will build upon the existing National Strategy to combat what is, in effect, modern-day slavery.

'There have been several, highly successful police operations in the UK, which have resulted in substantial terms of imprisonment for traffickers. However, it is recognised that much remains to be done in respect of scoping the size of the problem, insuring effective preventative measures are put in place, tackling demand and, most importantly, providing the necessary support and protection for victims.

'Whilst the police will continue to pursue and bring to justice those responsible for committing these appalling crimes, the consultation process will ensure valuable input from all who are in a position to contribute to eradicating the misery caused by human trafficking.'

The consultation will look at all forms of trafficking in human beings, covering labour exploitation as well as sexual exploitation, and trafficking in children. It recognises that most current knowledge is based on trafficking for sexual exploitation and while the Government needs to build on the work it has done already in this area, the scope of the strategy needs to be widened to address all forms of exploitation.

Notes to Editors:

1. The consultation ‘Tackling Human Trafficking – Consultation on Proposals for a UK Action Plan’ will close on 5 April 2006 and the paper can be found at www.homeoffice.gov.uk/about-us/haveyoursay/current-consultations (new window) (from 5 January 2006).
2. This is a UK-wide consultation. Consultation responses on devolved matters for Scotland, Northern Ireland or Wales will be passed on to the relative administration to consider.
3. The Government is seeking views from all who have an interest in this area. Copies of the consultation paper will be sent to a wide range of stakeholders including law enforcement representatives, prosecutors, international organisations and Non-Governmental Organisations who work in the trafficking field, but the consultation is open to all.
4. The EU Action Plan was adopted by the Council of Ministers in December and was a major achievement of the UK Presidency. It focuses on measures where coordinated EU-level action can have a real impact in the fight against people trafficking, including common standards for data collection, increased sharing of intelligence and EU-wide information campaigns.
5. The POPPY Scheme was established as a small-scale pilot project and it is being formally evaluated. Home Office funding for the Scheme since March 2003 stands at around £1.5m. It is a Home Office-funded Scheme run in association with Eaves Housing for Women to provide safe shelter and care for adult female victims of trafficking who have been brought to the UK to work in prostitution. Support is provided either temporarily, or in return for co-operation. Shelter and basic care to meet immediate needs is provided in all cases on a short-term basis (for up to four weeks whilst individual women decide whether or not to assist the authorities), with longer-term support available to women who agree to actively assist the authorities in gathering intelligence about and taking action against the traffickers.
6. For further information contact the Home Office press office on 020 7035 3535.
   

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