§ Mr. SteenTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent assessment he has made of the extent of the trafficking of women and children in the UK. [66152]
§ Beverley Hughes[holding answer 3 July 2002]Forming an accurate estimate of the levels of trafficking in people is problematic given the reluctance of the victims of trafficking to report to the police. There is currently no accurate, reliable data in existence within the United Kingdom (UK) or the European Union. A Home Office research study, "Stopping Traffic" (Police Research Series 125, published in 2000), indicated that there was intelligence to suggest that some women and children are trafficked into the UK for the purposes of sexual exploitation. This was estimated at between 140 and 1,400 per year but it was impossible to make a more accurate assessment of numbers. The report concluded that there was no evidence to suggest that this was on a large scale compared with other European countries.
The Immigration and Nationality Department Intelligence Section (INDIS) and the National Criminal Intelligence Service (NCIS) produce confidential monthly assessments and annual threat assessments for Reflex, our multi-agency task force on organised immigration crime. These assess the extent of organised immigration crime, which includes the trafficking of women and children, as it impacts on the UK. Reflex is led by the National Crime Squad and brings together all the key agencies involved in combating the problem. including INDIS, NCIS, the security and intelligence agencies and key police forces including the Met, Kent and the British Transport police.