The Government are currently considering the responses to its consultation on its proposal to publish a National Action Plan for Tackling Human Trafficking. A summary report of responses will be published on 21 June 2006. Whilst a range of views were presented on tackling issues around child trafficking, the Government will fully consider these responses before it decides whether additional safeguards to protect trafficked children are needed. It aims to produce a final UK Action Plan later this year, after further discussions with stakeholders and other Government Departments and agencies, in order to build upon the proposals for action set out in the consultation paper.
[holding answer 15 June 2006]: We are not aware of there being any safe houses specifically for accommodating victims of child trafficking. However, there are accommodation facilities in many locations that will cater for children in need who it is believed may have been trafficked. Planning for children's services is carried out on a locality basis throughout the UK. It is the statutory duty of local authorities under the 1989 Children Act to ensure that safe arrangements are in place to look after individual children at risk, including children from abroad.
It is also the responsibility of the local authority to assess any risk of harm and to arrange for the provision of a suitable range of accommodation for all the children in their area. Any lone child in the UK in contact with any statutory or child welfare agency will be urgently referred to the appropriate local authority. The Home Office National Asylum Support Service (NASS) reimburses local authorities who receive unaccompanied asylum seeking children (UASC) into their care with a total of £140 million p.a. Partnership plans to provide safer arrangements for children who have been trafficked are being incorporated in a Home Office/DfES joint review of how local authorities accommodate children from abroad.
The review will aim to deliver improvements by ensuring UASCs are placed in local authority areas where specialist services are in place—including local authority social workers who can recognise and deal appropriately with UASCs who may have been trafficked to the UK. The review is also designed to increase specialisation, end inconsistencies in treatment and enable the retention and development of expertise.