§ Lord Hyltonasked Her Majesty's Government:
When they expect to publish legislation penalising trafficking in persons; and whether they will do so in draft. [HL777]
§ Lord RookerThe Government are committed to ensuring that strong measures are in place to penalise people trafficking. We have signed the Trafficking Protocol to the United Nations Convention on Transnational Organised Crime, which requires the specific criminalisation of trafficking in human beings.
The Government are also currently negotiating a binding European Union Instrument: a Framework Decision, which requires the criminalisation of trafficking in human beings for the purposes of exploiting their labour and services or for sexual exploitation. The instrument is being considered by the European Scrutiny Committee and the Select Committee on the European Union. Under its provisions the UK will be required to have implemented the instrument within two years of its adoption.
A decision will be made on the legislation needed to implement the UN and EU agreements after the EU Framework Decision has been adopted and we will bring forward measures when parliamentary time allows. Any legislation to implement the UN and EU agreements will take account of the outcome of the consultation exercise on Setting the Boundaries, the report of the Sex Offences Review, which made recommendations for a new offence of trafficking for sexual exploitation.
The Government will continue to keep the situation under review.