Tag: John Randall

The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Randall on 2015-02-12.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the cost to the public purse was of the Salvation Army shelters for victims of human trafficking in (a) 2012 and (b) 2013; whether the Government’s funding of those shelters is dependant on the number of victims identified or the length of time they stay in the shelter; and for what average number of days victims have stayed in such shelters in 2014.

Karen Bradley

The total cost of the Government-funded Adult Victims of Trafficking Care
Contract was £3.7 million in 2012 and £3.6 million in 2013. The cost of this contract is
dependent on both the number of potential victims who enter the service and the
length of time potential victims stay in the service. In 2014 the average
length of stay in a safe house was 81 days.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Randall on 2015-02-12.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether any organisations contracted to provide specialist support and accommodation to victims of modern slavery are accommodating victims in hotels or bed and breakfast lodgings for (a) 24 hours or less, (b) one to five days and (c) more than five days; and if she will make a statement.

Karen Bradley

The Government-funded Adult Victims of Trafficking Care Contract is delivered
through The Salvation Army, who subcontract a range of support providers across
England and Wales. One of these support providers provides accommodation
within a commercial hotel, this includes for (a) 24 hours or less, (b) one to
five days and (c) more than five days. Due to the nature of this accommodation
it is only used to accommodate potential victims with lower level support
needs, who are sufficiently independent.

Under the European Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings
(ECAT), the Government is obligated to provide potential victims of trafficking
with a recovery and reflection period which includes appropriate accommodation.
All support providers provide regular reports to The Salvation Army on their
compliance with the ECAT obligations. Compliance is monitored by The Salvation
Army, who undertake periodic inspections, including evaluating a sample of
support plans and conducting feedback interviews with potential victims.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Randall on 2015-02-12.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people have been identified in each of the last five years as having been referred to the National Referral Mechanism more than once.

Karen Bradley

The current National Referral Mechanism (NRM) system is not designed to be able
to accurately identify this type of information. Personal details collected at
the point of entry to the NRM are not currently recorded in a way which permits
the definitive identification of individuals who have been referred more than
once. This is due to a number of factors in the way the data is provided by
both responding agencies and potential victims, as well as how it is collated
and recorded. The recommendations of the NRM review, when implemented, will
make provision for this type of data in the future.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Randall on 2015-02-11.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her modern day slavery strategy will contain plans to prevent victims of modern day slavery being retrafficked (a) within the UK, (b) within the EU and (c) elsewhere.

Karen Bradley

The Modern Slavery Strategy, published on 28 November 2014, sets out this
Government’s approach to tackling modern slavery. The strategy places
considerable focus on support for victims of slavery and trafficking, to enable
them to recover from their ordeal and move on with their lives. This includes
strengthening support for victims to help them avoid being retrafficked.
Commitments include activity to support adult and child victims, both where
they remain in the UK or wish to return home.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Randall on 2015-02-11.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many of the 449 potential victims of trafficking from Albania referred to in the National Crime Agency’s National Referral Mechanism Statistics 2014 have received a (a) positive Reasonable Grounds decision, (b) positive Conclusive Grounds decision, (c) negative Reasonable Grounds decision and (d) negative Conclusive Grounds decision on their immigration status; and if she will make a statement.

Karen Bradley

As of 2 January 2015, of the 449 potential victims of trafficking from Albania
referred to in the National Crime Agency’s 2014 National Referral Mechanism
Statistics:

a) 406 have received a positive Reasonable Grounds decision;
b) 35 have received a positive Conclusive Grounds decision;
c) 23 have received a negative Reasonable Grounds decision; and
d) 86 have received a negative Conclusive Grounds decision.

The NRM decision is independent of the decision on an individual’s immigration
status.

This information is taken from data used in the UK Human Trafficking Centre’s
Statistical and Trend Update: October to December 2014, which was published on
23 February 2015. The next quarterly report is due to be published in May.

Some of the outstanding cases in the data from 2 January have since been
completed. Where cases are outstanding this may be because UKVI are waiting for
information from third parties, such as the police or support providers.
Individuals will continue to receive Government-funded specialist support and
accommodation until their case is concluded.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Randall on 2015-02-11.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the risks of retrafficking within the UK once a victim of trafficking has completed his or her period of reflection in a government-funded shelter and is no longer permitted to remain in the shelter accommodation.

Karen Bradley

Protecting victims is at the heart of the Government’s strategy on modern
slavery. Addressing the risk of retrafficking is a key factor in the review of
the National Referral Mechanism and the provision of support through Government
funded safe houses. Our strategy focuses on strengthening support for victims
so that they can increase their resilience to being retrafficked. This
includes Government funded support providers who work with victims to support
safe reintegration based on each individual’s needs, taking into account any
particular risk of retrafficking. The Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner’s
role also includes promoting good practice in the prevention of modern slavery
offences, including prevention of retrafficking

The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Randall on 2015-02-11.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate she has made of how many suspected victims of modern slavery were subsequently retrafficked after being referred to the National Referral Mechanism in each of the last three years; and if she will make a statement.

Karen Bradley

The information requested is not available as it is not routinely recorded as part
of the National Referral Mechanism process. However, the NCA’s ‘Strategic
Assessment on the Nature and Scale of Human Trafficking in 2013,’ which
was based on additional information and intelligence, identified that there
were three cases where a potential victim had experienced a secondary period
of exploitation following recovery during the period 1 January 2013 to
31 December 2013. Similar intelligence assessments were produced in
2011 and 2012 which contained no data relating to the number of potential
victims that may have been re-trafficked.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Randall on 2015-02-11.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many calls have been logged in total since the government-funded trafficking helpline run by the NSPCC was established; and how many confirmed victims of human trafficking have been identified as a result of such calls.

Karen Bradley

The Modern Slavery helpline was set up on 31 July 2014 as part of a wider
national communications campaign. Between 31 July 2014 and 29 January 2015,
the NSPCC helpline received a total of 654 contacts. These contacts comprise
383 referrals, 82 advice cases, and 189 enquiries. The helpline ensures that
potential victims are referred to the appropriate agencies, including law
enforcement, for immediate support and assistance. As a result, the NSPCC does
not record the number of confirmed victims of modern slavery, including human
trafficking.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Randall on 2014-06-04.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what support his Department has provided to (a) Serbia and (b) Bosnia-Herzegovina following recent flooding in those countries.

Mr David Lidington

I discussed the impact of the floods with Prime Minister Vucic of Serbia in Belgrade on 2 June and with Prime Minister Bevanda in Sarajevo on 3 June. During my visit to the region I also met the Serbian Red Cross and travelled to Maglaj in Bosnia-Herzegovina to meet the Mayor and representatives of World Vision.

In Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), between 18 and 23 May a thirty-three person water rescue team from the British Fire Service was deployed to work alongside EUFOR Operation Althea and local rescue efforts. They rescued nearly 200 people, delivered large amounts of humanitarian aid, and helped restore power in villages North of Bijeljina.

In Serbia, the UK provided 64 radios for the Serbian Ministry of the Interior, to assist with the coordination of their response teams; and donated £280,000 worth of heavy lift and transport vehicles to the Serbian Red Cross to aid their relief distribution effort.

A team from the UK flew out to Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina in the week commencing 20 May to assess likely humanitarian and recovery needs. During my visit to Bosnia and Herzegovina I was able to announce that the UK had approved £250,000 to support a World Vision flood response project in the region focussing on sanitation and health and providing support for 140,000 people made homeless by the floods.

In addition to this bilateral support, the UK provided support to BiH, Serbia and Croatia through the EU, UN and other international organisations. In BiH, EUFOR Operation Althea, to which the UK contributes troops in-theatre and in reserve, assisted the BiH Armed Forces in their response to the flooding. The First Battalion, The Royal Regiment of Scotland, who provide part of EUFOR’s intermediate reserve, and are in BiH for a routine operational rehearsal, will assist the BiH Armed Forces in this regard.

The UK has worked closely with the EU European Community Humanitarian Office (ECHO), and offered advice and assistance during all phases of the flood response effort. ECHO have released €3.2m in humanitarian aid to support the most vulnerable population in BiH and in Serbia (to which the UK will have contributed 15%).

The government will work closely with the UNDP, the EU and other international organisations to assess what further help might be given to help both Serbia and Bosnia Herzegovina recover from the impact of the floods.