Policing and Crime Bill

We come to the last of the specific concerns that we and the interested organisations have with this offence—the level of fine that the Government consider appropriate to impose on a person found guilty of paying for sex with an exploited prostitute, without any element of defence. Unlike the noble Baroness whose amendments are grouped with mine, I have not selected an appropriate level that I think this offence warrants, for the simple reason that it all depends on whether the Government accept our arguments on the question of strict liability. That will determine which way this goes. If we win our argument on strict liability, I would agree entirely that the level of the offence should be raised significantly to reflect the severity of the crime. If there is no strict liability, there will be a serious offence for which for which there is a defence. The ridiculously low level of the proposed fine shows just how weak this offence will be if it is implemented in its current form. The Government’s insistence on a strict liability offence means that those who actively seek out trafficked prostitutes or those who simply do not care that the prostitute is clearly exploited can receive a fine of only up to £1,000. In most cases it will be less. The level of the fine clearly demonstrates that, as currently drafted, the offence will fail. Despite all the arguments used by the Minister, he must appreciate the damage that such a desultory fine, as well as the strict liability aspect, would do to the reputation of our justice system. We will need to look again at the level of sentence if we end up with strict liability, which I hope we will not. In the mean time, it will be interesting to hear from the Minister why this level of fine has been set. I beg to move.