Policing and Crime Bill

I shall also speak to Amendments 49, 51, 52, 55, 58, 59, 61, 62 and 64 in the name of my noble friend Lord West, and resist Amendment 48. As the Bill passed through another place there was considerable debate over the potential scope of Clause 13. I am not sure, not having been present, whether it was a greater or a lesser debate in intensity and range of views than that we have had in the past hour or so. It is fair to say that there was a large degree of consensus on the need to ensure that those who had been forced or coerced into providing sexual services to a sex buyer were given the full protection of the law. There was recognition that this is what we are trying to achieve with this offence. The Government are grateful for the constructive votes taken thus far. We responded to many of the concerns raised, particularly the fear that Clause 13, as originally drafted, was too wide and that its definition could go beyond the exploitative and coercive circumstances which the offence was intended to cover. It was suggested that it would also cover those who pay for sex with someone who had freely chosen to work in prostitution under the limited direction of a madam. We do not wish such circumstances to be covered by the offence. Therefore, to address this concern directly we have made amendments in another place to clarify the scope of the offence. These amendments make clear that the offence will cover those who pay for sex with someone who has been subject to force, deception or threats by another person acting for or in the expectation of gain. However, in making these amendments we recognise the need to ensure that they do not limit the protection offered by this offence too much. We do not wish the offence to apply only to those who have paid for sex with someone who has been subject to physical force or threats. It is important that we recognise the psychological pressure that can be used to coerce someone into prostitution, and the effect that this can have on people who may be vulnerable. For example, a person seeking to involve another person in prostitution, or maintain their involvement in prostitution, may threaten to report that person to the immigration authorities if they know that person to be here illegally, possibly because they have been trafficked; or threats to withdraw emotional or practical support may be used and may have a particularly pernicious effect on those who are in a weak position compared to the person making the threats or otherwise coercing the prostitute. To ensure that these circumstances are covered by the offence, subsection (4) currently states: ""For the purposes of this section ‘force’ includes coercion by threats or other psychological means including exploitation of vulnerability"." That wording was inserted by a Back-Bench amendment, which we accepted on Report in another place on the basis that the Government would tidy up the wording by amendment in this House. Consequently, we have introduced Amendments 47, 49, 51, 52, 55, 58, 59, 61 and 62, which will ensure that Clause 13 makes it an offence for a person to pay or promise payment for sex with a prostitute if a third person has engaged in exploitative conduct of a kind likely to induce or encourage the prostitute to provide the sexual services for which the sex buyer has made or promised payment. Under Amendments 52 and 62 a person engages in exploitative conduct if he or she, ""uses force, threats (whether or not relating to violence) or any other form of coercion, or ... practises any form of deception"." This wording will replace that used in subsection (4). I turn now to Amendment 48, which has been tabled by the noble Baroness, Lady Hanham, and the noble Viscount, Lord Bridgeman. This would remove the requirement for the third party who had been responsible for the force, deception or threats to be acting for or in the expectation of gain for himself or another person. It would appear, at least theoretically, to allow the offence to apply to a wider set of circumstances as it would not be necessary to establish that the third party had acted in order for himself or another to benefit financially. While there is an argument that it should be illegal to pay for sex with anyone who has been subject to force, threats or deception, regardless of whether such behaviour is motivated by financial gain, financial gain is a significant element of the exploitation that we are trying to target with this offence. The offence is aimed at those who create a financial incentive for traffickers and pimps to coerce or deceive people into providing sexual services as a prostitute. Reducing such demand therefore reduces the financial incentive for people to act as traffickers or otherwise coerce people into prostitution. The same does not apply where the third party is not acting for gain. We do not consider it likely that there would be many circumstances in which someone would behave in this way without the expectation of gain, although admittedly it is not inconceivable. I am therefore grateful to the noble Baroness and the noble Viscount for raising the issue. However, I hope they appreciate that, for the reasons I have set out, we are not inclined to accept Amendment 48. The amendments that we have tabled are an attempt to recognise the range of circumstances in which people are coerced into prostitution and to ensure that no vulnerable person who has been coerced into providing sexual services is excluded from the protection offered by this offence. At the same time, it is important that the scope of this offence is clear. We are grateful for the constructive attempts that have so far been made to ensure that this aim is achieved. It has inevitably been a dynamic process involving close scrutiny and reflection, but we believe that these amendments will help us strike the right balance. They address many of the views expressed in the other place and will ultimately ensure that the offence achieves its aim of protecting vulnerable people coerced into prostitution by tackling the demand for such prostitutes. I beg to move.