§ Mr. HancockTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many children have been trafficked into the UK and forced into prostitution in each of the past five years; from what countries the children came; and if he will make a statement. [76798]
§ Mr. HancockTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many children have been trafficked into the UK in each of the past five years; and if he will make a statement. [76797]
§ Mr. Bob AinsworthThere is currently no criminal offence of trafficking. Criminal statistics which might give an indication of how many children have been trafficked into the UK in each of the past five years, and from where they came, are not therefore available. The Nationality and Immigration and Asylum Bill currently before the House will introduce a new offence of trafficking for the purposes of controlling an individual in prostitution.
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 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.