To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will announce a timetable for the ratification of the Council of Europe Convention on Action Against Trafficking in Human Beings; and if she will make a statement. (177081)

The Government are determined to prioritise the effort to tackle the misery of human trafficking. That is why we intend to ratify the convention before the end of this year, subject to achieving necessary changes to domestic legislation in all parts of the UK.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what new research has been commissioned or undertaken by her Department into trafficking for forced labour since the publication of the UK Action Plan on Tackling Human Trafficking; and what further research is planned for 2008. (177082)

Knowledge about the nature and scale of trafficking for forced labour in the UK can be developed either by specific research or through intelligence collation.

Intelligence on trafficking for forced labour is currently being gathered from police forces across the UK under Operation Pentameter 2 and will be used to update our assessment of the extent of the problem. In the interim no further research on forced labour has been commissioned although the research on whether there are any specific risks of abuse concerning those entering to carry out domestic work or in related categories is still ongoing.

Work is also being undertaken on trafficking for forced labour as part of the implementation process of the Council of Europe Convention. In 2008 the Home Office will be running a pilot project, supported by the United Kingdom Human Trafficking Centre, aimed at tackling trafficking for forced labour.