§ Mr. CoxTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent surveys have been undertaken by his Department to obtain information on the number of young people involved in prostitution. [53698]
§ Mr. MichaelInformation on the numbers of persons cautioned and convicted of offences involving prostitution is collected on a continuous basis for our Cautions and Court Proceedings databases. No separate survey has been carried out by my Department.
§ Mr. CoxTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what services his Department provides to(a) police and (b) local authorities to encourage young people to abandon prostitution; and if he will make a statement; [53701]
397W(2) how many young (a) females and (b) males are recorded as having been involved in prostitution in England and Wales in each of the last three years; and what measures his Department has taken to counter child prostitution. [53696]
§ Mr. MichaelThe Information requested is given in the table.
Persons aged 10 to 17 cautioned and convicted for prostitution related offences1 by sex—England and Wales, 1994–1996 Cautions Convictions Year Male Female Male Female 1994 8 303 0 142 1995 3 263 4 101 1996 6 291 3 177 1 Includes offences of soliciting by a man or a woman and kerb crawling The Government recognise that children involved in prostitution are primarily victims of abuse and that those who exploit and use them should be treated as child abusers. We are determined to ensure that there are effective inter-agency arrangements to help children who have become involved in prostitution to leave it and to ensure that abusers are punished.
Against this background, we are taking a number of specific measures. First, the Department of Health and the Home Office are preparing new comprehensive guidance for the police and local authorities on the treatment of children in prostitution in collaboration with the police and social services. This guidance will build on the ground-breaking guidelines produced and piloted by the Association of Chief Police Officers, in consultation
Number of persons cautioned or convicted in all courts of living on immoral earnings of prostitution by sex, 1994–96 England and Wales 1994 1995 1996 Offence Males Females Males Females Males Females Convictions Living on earnings of prostitution or exercising control over prostitution1 60 10 43 8 38 4 Living wholly or in part on the earnings of male prostitution2 — — 1 — 3 — Cautions Living on earnings of prostitution or exercising control over prostitution1 3 9 1 4 1 4 Living wholly or in part on the earnings of male prostitution2 — — — — — — 1 Sexual Offences Act 1956 Secs. 30 and 31 2 Sexual Offences Act 1967 Sec. 5(1) Source:
Home Office Court Proceedings Database
§ Mr. CoxTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what financial support his Department currently provides to organisations encouraging young people to leave prostitution. [53699]
§ Mr. MichaelThe Home Office does not directly fund organisations which encourage young people to leave prostitution. This is essentially a local function. Central Government do provide grants to local probation committees through the probation service, some of which may be used on work which encourages young people to leave prostitution. Details of how the money is spent are not held centrally.
398Wwith others, on the treatment of children involved in prostitution. It will also take full account of the new juvenile justice arrangements in the Crime and Disorder Bill [Lords] and the responses to the Department of Health consultation paper Working Together To Safeguard Children: New Government Proposals for Inter-Agency Co-operation!
We will be consulting interested organisations on draft guidance later in the year.
Second, I announced on 15 June 1998, Official Report, column 10, that there will be a review of all sexual offences with the aim of ensuring that the framework of the sexual offences and penalties is coherent and effective. The review will cover the offences and penalties for those who use and abuse children who become involved in prostitution.
Third, we have introduced measures in the Crime and Disorder Bill which may help in dealing with the problem of children who have become involved in prostitution. For instance, the Bill places a duty on local authorities and the police, in partnership with other agencies, to carry out an audit of crime and disorder in their area. This should help to determine the extent of the involvement of children in prostitution in a local area, on the basis of which the partners will be able to devise a strategy for dealing with the problem.
§ Mr. CoxTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many(a) men and (b) women have been convicted of living on the immoral earnings of prostitution in each of the last three years. [53697]
§ Mr. MichaelInformation taken from the Home Office Court Proceedings database, including number of cautions, is given in the table.
The Department of Health awards both core and project grants to a number of organisations each year through the General Section 64 Scheme (S64). Barnardos is receiving funding over three years to contribute to the cost of a National Development Officer who will evaluate present and proposed services for children who are involved in or at risk of sexual exploitation, including commercial sexual exploitation, and to support various projects.