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Human Trafficking: Prosecutions

Volume 486: debated on Thursday 15 January 2009

To ask the Solicitor-General what progress the Crown Prosecution Service has made in prosecuting those engaged in human trafficking. (247660)

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) is working to improve the number of prosecutions, and the number of offences prosecuted under human trafficking legislation is increasing year on year. The number of prosecutions should also increase further as a result of our ratification of the Council of Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings in December 2008. The Convention will assist investigations and provide support for victims of trafficking in the course of criminal proceedings.

To ask the Solicitor-General how many people have been prosecuted by the Crown Prosecution Service for offences relating to the trafficking of people into the UK for sexual exploitation since 2003. (247798)

The records held at discrete offence level by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) identify the number of offences of trafficking into the United Kingdom for sexual exploitation in which a prosecution commenced, rather than the number of defendants prosecuted. During the four years for which figures are available the number of these offences was as follows:

Number

2005

9

2006

7

2007

30

2008

54