(Gedling)
(Lab):...However, that is still a long way, as the
Minister will know from her office’s estimates, from the 10,000 to
13,000 slaves in this country. We have to ask why that is and why
victims are not coming forward. First, some of the people who
should identify them, such as the first responders, often do not
recognise them. Local authorities have a duty to identify, but many
do not, and there has been little funding to train their staff. As
the 2016 National Crime Agency data
shows, many local authorities find no one at
all...
(Stockport)
(Lab):...The criminal exploitation of children to sell
drugs in county lines operations is the next big grooming
scandal. It has many similarities to grooming in the early child
sexual exploitation cases in places such as Rotherham and
Rochdale. The National Crime Agency says that 83% of police
forces have reported activity in their areas, and I have been
told by a well-informed police source that there could be up to
1,000 county lines operating from major cities throughout the
country that have well-established criminal gangs, including
London, Liverpool and Manchester...
...There needs to be a more joined-up response from
the National Crime Agency and at a
regional and local police level. Criminal gangs are making
millions from the exploitation and degradation of childrepn, and
they are responsible for countless beatings, stabbings and
murder. We need to disrupt the grooming of vulnerable children at
a very early stage, while as prosecuting senior gang members.
Preventing children from getting into gangs in turn prevents many
more victims. We need to consider the better use of child
abduction warning notices, and the national referring mechanism
needs to be better understood, as it can be used to identify
children as victims of exploitation, which in turn makes it
easier to prosecute exploiters—who are hiding behind the
children—under trafficking laws. That will also prevent
prosecution of the child...
(Bristol East)
(Lab):...I welcome the Modern Slavery Act 2015, in
particular section 54, on supply chains, which we had to fight
quite hard for. Despite the legislation, as the National Crime
Agency said earlier this year, modern slavery is steadily
increasing. There are many industries in which modern slavery
goes undetected, in everyday situations right under our noses.
Twenty cases of modern slavery have been investigated in Bristol
over the last year, including one involving eastern European
workers who were exploited by a Bristol car wash and forced to
work long hours for low pay. One had worked for 18 months without
any pay at all, and it is believed that five others are in the
same situation...
(Erewash)
(Con):...To give this important issue some
context, research carried out by the Home Office in 2014
estimated that in 2013 the number of potential victims of modern
slavery in the UK was between 10,000 and 13,000. Personally, I
believe that this is an underestimate of the problem, as more and
more people are becoming aware of this horrendous practice. More
needs to be done to educate employers and their staff—I know work
is being done on this—on how to identify people who may be modern
slaves. A recent case in Derbyshire highlighted that issue. The
figures represent not only victims trafficked into the UK, but
British adults and children too. The National
Crime Agency estimates that in 2013 the UK was
the third-most common country of origin of identified victims.
Modern slavery is happening on our doorsteps...
(Paisley and Renfrewshire
North) (SNP):...Statistics from the National Crime Agency report that 3,805
potential victims were submitted to the national referral
mechanism—the framework for identifying victims of trafficking or
modern slavery—in 2016. As the hon. Member for Gedling said, that
was a 17% increase on the previous year. Of those 3,805 victims
in 2016, 150 were from Scotland, 123 from Wales and 33 from
Northern Ireland. Behind those damning statistics are horrifying
stories of lives being destroyed, of women being abused, of
children being sexually exploited and of workers being forced to
work without pay through fear of the consequences if they refuse.
Unfortunately, despite the implementation of the 2015 Act,
the National Crime Agency warns about the
scale of modern slavery and has stated that it is “far more
prevalent” than previously estimated, with alleged victims as
young as 12 being sold and exploited. However, the police seem to
be failing or are unable to tackle the issue. I can accept the
police in England and Wales are under Government funding
pressures, but I am concerned that police forces are failing to
recognise the crimes that make up modern slavery. That is leaving
victims unprotected from the actions of those who would take
advantage of them...
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