Prostitution (Hansard, 19 November 2001)

§ Ms Walley
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps the Government are taking to tackle prostitution; and if he will make a statement. [13777]

§ Mr. Keith Bradley
The Criminal Justice and Police Act 2001 made kerb crawling an arrestable offence and created a new offence of placing prostitutes cards in telephone boxes. These measures came into effect on 1 October and 1 September respectively. They will assist police forces around the country to minimise the public nuisance caused by prostitution.
We are also funding 11 projects as part of the crime reduction programme to find out 'what works' in tackling the crime and disorder associated with legislation. The funding is being used to pilot new methods of combating the nuisance associated with prostitution, preventing children becoming involved in prostitution and helping sex workers to exit prostitution. All the projects are being independently evaluated so that we can make best practice available to all practitioners working in this difficult area.

§ Ms Walley
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what measures are being taken to prevent people from entering prostitution; and if he will make a statement. [13775]

§ Mr. Keith Bradley
The Government are concerned to prevent vulnerable people, particularly children, from entering prostitution. They are therefore keen to ensure that the criminal law deals properly with those who seek to coerce or induce people into prostitution or exploit them as prostitutes. "Setting The Boundaries: Reforming the law on Sex Offences", published in July 2000, makes recommendations for new offences to deal with this and the Government are looking at these very carefully in the light of responses to the consultation exercise. A decision on all the proposals in the report will be announced in due course.
In addition, guidance on "Safeguarding Children Involved in Prostitution" was published jointly by the Home Office and the Department of Health in May 2000. One of its key messages is that those under 18 who engage in prostitution are almost invariably victims and must be treated as such. Agencies must work together to identify children at risk to prevent them entering prostitution and help them exit it.