My Lords, I am extremely pleased that Clause 48 is part of the Bill. It recognises that trafficked children have particular needs and experiences that make them especially vulnerable. It has been a great pleasure to work with the noble and learned Baroness, Lady Butler-Sloss, over these years and it is great that the Minister has been so co-operative and helpful. I am also particularly grateful that he arranged the very helpful meeting with officials from the Home Office and Barnardo’s, which operates the child trafficking advocacy scheme.
The Minister’s amendments to Clause 48 deal precisely with the key areas of concern that we raised in Committee, and they are a testament to the Minister’s willingness to engage constructively on those issues—and I am very pleased to speak today in support of the majority of his amendments. I shall not go into great detail on matters contained in the amendments, trusting that my views are well known to your Lordships, and I shall focus my remarks on areas on which I would appreciate further clarification from the Minister.
Amendments 62 and 64 address the power to make regulations about details of the advocate scheme and will now require that regulations are made and cover the functions and appointment of the advocate. I strongly urge your Lordships to support Amendments 62 and 64, which will require the creation of regulations ensuring a robust statutory foundation for child trafficking advocates.
I have one question for the Minister. In previous amendments that I have brought to the House on this issue, I have always ensured that the functions of the role were based on internationally recognised best practice guidance from UNICEF and, more recently, from the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights. Can the Minister assure me that such international guidance and recommendations from other British studies such as the Still At Risk report will be considered in drawing up the functions in the regulations, as well as from the trials currently being undertaken?
I particularly welcome Amendment 61, in the name of the Minister, which gives child trafficking advocates the power to assist the child in obtaining the legal advice and power to appoint and instruct legal representatives. As I mentioned in Committee, I have met a number of lawyers who represent trafficked children and who have all told me that they have great difficulty in taking instructions from trafficked children. They have therefore recommended that the advocate should have the power to fill that gap.
I welcome the Minister’s Amendment 72, which states that regulations about the advocates will require public authorities to,
“recognise, and pay due regard to, the advocate’s functions, and … provide the advocate with access to such information … to carry out those functions”.
We have heard in the past various stories from organisations such as Barnardo’s where advice from charity workers supporting trafficked children has not been heeded by a local authority, resulting in a child going missing and no longer receiving the help that they need.
Amendment 72 would help to prevent this happening. I have one question for the Minister about that amendment: which bodies and agencies will have this duty? During the meeting with Barnardo’s arranged for Peers by the Minister, I was disappointed to hear the story of a child whose college did not accept the child’s valid reason for missing classes, which had been to attend official immigration appointments. It was frustrating to hear that the advocate had had to make repeated representations to the college explaining the child’s situation before it heeded her advice and removed the negative attendance report from the child’s records. I hope that such a scenario would not be possible in the future, as a result of Amendment 72.
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I would appreciate clarification from the Minister about the meaning of the term “public authorities”. Would, for example, a college be included within that definition? Would courts or tribunals be included? What about a child’s GP or other health professionals? Does the definition cover the child’s foster carers? I understand that the equivalent section of the Northern
Ireland legislation uses the term “any person or body” rather than “public authorities”. Perhaps the Minister could reflect on whether that might be a better term to ensure that all the necessary professionals are covered.
I welcome the Minister’s amendment that inserts the word “independent” into the title of the child trafficking advocate. That was another of the matters I raised in Committee. However, I still have some concerns that the caveats in references to independence that appear in Clause 48(2) may add a layer of confusion about the independence of the advocate’s role, and may even be in conflict with the description of the advocates as independent. Amendment 59A, in the name of the noble Baroness, Lady Howe, highlights that point. Could the Minister reflect on the possible contradiction, or confusion, between subsection (2) and the change in the title of the role to “independent child trafficking advocates”? Perhaps he might consider tabling an amendment at Third Reading to clarify those terms, and ensure that the independence of advocates is protected and guaranteed?
I now turn to my Amendments 55 and 69, and the Minister’s Amendment 68. All international evidence and recommendations, including the studies here in the UK, highlight the importance of appointing a child trafficking advocate at the earliest possible moment. It is this early intervention that can help prevent children going missing, either under the influence of their traffickers or out of fear of the authorities. The UNICEF Reference Guide says:
“As soon as a child victim is identified, a guardian should be appointed to accompany the child”.
The Still at Risk report recommends that an independent trusted adult to support a trafficked child should be appointed,
“as soon as they come to an authority’s attention”.
I was encouraged by what I heard from the representatives of Barnardo’s, during the meeting arranged by the Minister, about the intention within the trials to appoint an advocate within hours of a referral being made. I welcome the part of Amendment 68 requiring an advocate to be appointed,
“as soon as reasonably practicable”,
but I am concerned that it then qualifies that requirement by requiring,
“reasonable grounds to believe a child may be a victim”.
Amendment 57 would apply to Clause 48(1) the same criterion for appointing an advocate for a child when there are “reasonable grounds” for believing the child is trafficked. I understand this to mean that a child must receive a positive “reasonable grounds” decision under the national referral mechanism before an advocate will be appointed. Can the Minister confirm whether this is his intention? I have concerns that if my understanding is correct, it could result in undue delays in providing an advocate for a child victim in the crucial first hours and days after it is realised that they might have been trafficked.
Furthermore, I was somewhat surprised by this addition because it seems to be at odds with the process being used in the trials, whereby, I understand, referral to the advocate scheme is possible even before a referral to the NRM has been made, and there is no
need to wait for receipt of a “reasonable grounds” decision. I am aware that the NRM review has recommended a different process, whereby the referral and “reasonable grounds” stages will be merged into one decision. However, I had understood that the review’s recommendations were being piloted before any nationwide changes were made to the system.
One must also acknowledge not only the need to await the results of the pilot but the potential for changes in the personnel in the Home Office, which could impact on such decisions, given the forthcoming election. It concerns me that until such time as the NRM system is changed, if it is changed at all, vulnerable children may need to wait for a longer period before an advocate is appointed. I have therefore tabled Amendments 55 and 69, inspired by the approach taken in the Human Trafficking and Exploitation (Criminal Justice and Support for Victims) Act (Northern Ireland) brought forward by the noble Lord, Lord Morrow. My amendments would replace the reference to “reasonable grounds” that the Minister is proposing with a requirement only that a referral about a child is to be, or has been, made. This will ensure that as soon as indicators of trafficking are spotted and a child is referred to the NRM, the child can be appointed an advocate, rather than waiting until receiving a positive “reasonable grounds” decision. I urge the Minister to consider the dangers of victims having to wait for a “reasonable grounds” decision before receiving an advocate. Perhaps if he is unable to accept my amendments today, he could consider bringing in an amendment at Third Reading to deal with this matter.
I state again that I am grateful for the responsiveness of the Minister to the concerns that have been expressed by myself and other noble Lords about the drafting of the clause. We all want to ensure an effective advocate role for trafficked children, and the amendments tabled by the noble Lord meet most of the concerns that have been raised in this House. A few issues remain and I hope that he will reconsider them at Third Reading.