Policing and Crime Bill

I was very interested to hear the noble Baroness, Lady Miller, refer to the Victorian aspect of this compulsory rehabilitation. However, only a year ago compulsory rehabilitation was thrown out of the Criminal Justice and Immigration Bill by this House, so why is it being brought back when all the evidence is against it, particularly in the context of it being conducted by the criminal justice system? That is the wrong organisation to be doing it. The Minister mentioned one of the voluntary organisations. I would like to take this opportunity to describe the work of a remarkable organisation, which I have had the great privilege of seeing work in Newcastle. The GAP Project is run by a remarkable and extremely brave young woman, Laura Seebohm. She works among these women in Newcastle, conscious of the dangers presented by the masters—if that is the right word—or the pimps who conduct them, and providing support to the women involved in prostitution. That is the aim of the project. She is trying to engage women who have traditionally avoided contact with the agencies because they mistrust them for a variety of reasons: they lack confidence in them; they fear the stigma of going to them; and they have chaotic lifestyles. Everything is against that contact, quite apart from the pressure that they are under from the people who are exploiting them. Experience over a number of years has shown that this group of women needs specialist services across a wide range of settings, including community outreach, drop-in centres, which they can attend at times when they are able to do so, structured groups, where they feel that there is something they can engage with and get help from people consistently over time, and innovative activities that identify the skills that they have and help them to live useful and law-abiding lives. The key to all this is developing trusting relationships with staff. The results prove that, once these women become engaged with this sort of system, the demand for that support increases exponentially. They themselves are the best agents for encouraging others to come and join in as a result of what they have experienced. The project is working in a very difficult and tough area. In fact, at one time this service was run by the probation service, but it deliberately broke away from it because the restrictions placed on the service by Whitehall through the probation service interfered with its flexibility, which is absolutely crucial. It was crucial to make certain that the services were there at all times for the women when they were able to come and use them. The door had to be open for them. With that sort of evidence from that sort of place, it seems to me to be totally extraordinary that the Government should now be embarking on something that is not structured, not clear, not consistent and not available for people at the times when they need it. It does not seem to me to make any sense to have this organised by the very organisation, the criminal justice system, that is the one part of the structure from which these women shy away. Therefore, I am extremely concerned at the continuing focus on criminalisation. We mentioned it with children, but it also applies to these women. I notice with some concern that the Public Bill Committee in the other place described Clause 16 as, ""the sloppiest part of the Bill".—[Official Report, Commons, Policing and Crime Bill Committee, 10/2/09; col. 322.]" It said that it was only likely to make matters worse. If you put in place ineffective, unrealistic and compulsory rehabilitation programmes, leading to further criminalisation, you will make the project worse. We should not delude ourselves that an ad hoc court nomination of people who might be appropriate will be anything like suitable for dealing with these problems of women who have got into this situation and need to be helped out of it, as of course do their children, which is a residual part of the problem that must be addressed.