 The next item of business is a debate on motion 6031, in the name of Michael Matheson, on human trafficking and exploitation, making Scotland a hostile place for traffickers and providing effective support for victims. Could those members who wish to speak in this debate please press the request to speak buttons and I call on Michael Matheson to speak to and move the motion up to 10 minutes please, cabinet secretary. Can I move the motion in my name? The title of this debate sets out the Scottish Government's objective, making Scotland an increasingly hostile place for those who traffic and exploit other human beings and making the support that we provide to victims more effective. Human trafficking and exploitation are abhorrent crimes and abuses of human rights. Trading adults and children as commodities and exploiting them for profit or personal benefit degrades victims and causes lasting physical and psychological damage. No one should be subject to such treatment and no country should tolerate it harping within its borders. Victims may not be imprisoned in a physical sense but they are imprisoned psychologically, trapped in their circumstances and often hidden in plain sight. The inventiveness of those who peddle human misery in this area is unfortunately astounding. Commercial sexual exploitation, labour exploitation, forced drug cultivation, domestic servitude and sham marriages are just some examples of the types of exploitation that can take place. In 2015, the Parliament unanimously passed the Human Trafficking and Exploitation Scotland Act, creating a new consolidated defence, helping to support our police and prosecutors in tackling human trafficking and exploitation. The act provides for the protection and support of victims and also provides orders that disrupt the activities of perpetrators. As required by the legislation, I laid Scotland's first trafficking and exploitation strategy before this Parliament on 31 May 2017. The strategy sets out how we can get better at identifying and supporting victims, at identifying perpetrators and disrupting their activity and addressing the broader conditions that foster trafficking and awareness raising across the board. There is also a specific section covering the particular needs of child trafficking victims. Children depend on adults for their care and are more vulnerable to coercion and abuse. Sadly, children are trafficked into Scotland, but children born and bred here can also fall prey to trafficking and exploitation. Support and protection for child victims in Scotland is generally provided within the context of Scotland's child protection system. However, the strategy sets out a number of specific actions to strengthen our response to child victims, including the implementation of the children's element of the 2015 act. The strategy was developed by a wide range of stakeholders. This inclusive approach has drawn praise, including from Kevin Highland to the independent anti-slavery commissioner. I want to put on record my thanks for all those who have contributed to its development. Most importantly, the strategy reflects the views of victims themselves. They have told us about the psychological and the physical scars that they bear as a result of their experience. I am determined to ensure that we continue to reflect on views of victims and to put into place a strategy that is informed by the experience of victims alongside those of other stakeholders. The implementation of the strategy will reflect that in the weeks and months ahead. I would also like to take this opportunity to highlight some of the very specific measures that we are currently taking forward. As members of the Justice Committee will be aware, new orders are being introduced to disrupt trafficking activity. Trafficking and exploitation prevention orders will come into force on 30 June this year, and trafficking and exploitation risk orders will come into force on 31 October. They give the police, prosecutors and the courts further options to target those who are responsible for human trafficking and exploitation, making Scotland an increasingly hostile environment for perpetrators. We will also be taking forward an awareness-raising campaign for the public that will be launched later this year. During the consultation for the strategy, victims of trafficking told us that they wanted the public to know and understand what had happened to them. We are therefore working with a range of partners to develop the campaign over the coming months. We also need to make sure that we continue to improve the support that is available to victims of trafficking. Today, I can announce that I intend to lay regulations that will extend the length of time for which adult victims of trafficking recovered in Scotland will be provided with support. Provided the victims' consent is provided for support, the Council of Europe requires a minimum period of 30 days for reflection and recovery. Currently, Scotland and the other countries in the UK provide a minimum of 45 days of support. However, in Scotland we will now go further. The regulations that I intend to bring forward in Parliament will specify a period of 90 days. When we consulted on that, the majority of responses highlighted a period of 90 days as being a key step to meeting the aim within the strategy to support victims to safely recover. I will give way to the member. Jamie Greene. On that specific point, therefore, by extending that period, will the Government provide additional funding to the third sector organisations that support victims, specifically TARA, Migrant Help and the Anchor Centre? Michael Matheson. Yes, we will be to reflect that. I have taken the time to reflect on the responses that we received during the consultation and consider the evidence that has been put forward, including the counterarguments against moving to 90 days. However, Presiding Officer, I believe that 90 days is a commitment that will help to ensure that we are doing as much as possible to support victims of human trafficking here in Scotland, and I encourage Governments across the rest of the UK to follow our lead in this area. At the time when Parliament was considering the bill, there was a great deal of pressure both in Parliament and from out with Parliament to middle the English system of a statutory defence for victims. At the time, I resisted those proposals because I was clearly of the view that what we were proposing here in Scotland with the Lord Advocate's instructions and a presumption against prosecution would be of greater benefit to the victims of trafficking. Last October, the anti-trafficking monitoring group published a report called class acts, comparing the key provisions in the three UK human trafficking acts. To quote from the report that states, the Lord Advocate's instructions provide an easily understood set of principles and guidelines on non-prosecution for lawyers and non-lawyers. The anti-trafficking monitoring group considers this to be exemplary practice and recommends that this be adopted in other UK jurisdictions. I believe that the anti-trafficking monitoring group report reinforces the benefits of the approach that we have taken through the Lord Advocate's instructions and the presumption against prosecution here in Scotland. Although we have made progress in tackling human trafficking exploitation here in Scotland, I am conscious that there is still a great deal of work to do. 150 victims of trafficking exploitation were recovered and supported in Scotland in 2016. Not a huge number, but each and every one of these individuals is a real person and may have suffered weeks, months and even years of abuse and exploitation. Those are just the ones that we know about, because by its very nature human trafficking is a hidden crime. Our strategy sets out the actions that we will take in order to maintain the approach that we have to making sure that Scotland remains a hostile environment for those who wish to perpetrate trafficking. However, partnership will be key to making sure that we do this effectively. The united approach across Europe to tackling this issue in terms of law enforcement and support for victims has been key to the progress that has been achieved to date. Where we can form strong partnerships across borders, it is of mutual benefit in targeting perpetrators and bringing them to justice and in preventing trafficking and re-trafficking of vulnerable people. I strongly believe that this cross border co-operation must continue if we are to tackle the international trade in both adults and children who are trafficked and exploited. Scotland's first trafficking and exploitation strategy is a milestone in that journey. I look forward to ensuring that we support those victims identified here in Scotland while ensuring that Scotland is a hostile place for those who traffick and exploit other human beings. I call on Claire Baker to speak to and move amendment 6031.1, up to seven minutes, please, Ms Baker. Thank you, Presiding Officer. While I very much recognise the Government's commitment to this issue with the debate and the strategy this afternoon, can I start by thanking my colleague Jenny Marra MSP, who has done a great deal of work on human trafficking, including bringing forward the member's bill, and really helped to raise the profile of this crime both in Parliament and with the public. Jenny Marra is on maternity leave at the moment, but I am confident that if she were here today, that would be a debate that she would have made a significant contribution to. Ms Marra's consultation for her member's bill received the support of more than 50,000 people. It was one of the highest response rates that has been to any consultation since devolution. I appreciate that the Government in its motion highlighted the cross-party support that has been on this issue and that exists on tackling human trafficking in Scotland. It is important that we continue to ensure that such cross-party support is achieved and that this Parliament continues to speak with one voice in condemning these abhorrent crimes, and we will be supporting the Government's motion tonight. The 2015 act was significant in introducing a single offence and a maximum penalty of life imprisonment for anyone convicted. However, I was recognised with the passing of the human trafficking bill. That can only be the start in dealing with traffickers. We are talking about the exploitation of some of the most vulnerable people in our society, including children. These are crimes and victims that often exist in the margins that are invisible to authorities and they are often unable to receive the support and justice that they deserve. Although much trafficking originates outside of Scotland and with certain areas of the world becoming ever more volatile, this increases the risk and opportunities of this crime, I appreciate that there is only so much that we can do as a Parliament, therefore it is vital that we can do everything possible. That is why we welcome the publication of the strategy and the early days of planning. We must ensure that communities across Scotland are aware of traffickers and that there is no hiding place on the margins for those who wish to exploit the vulnerable. There has been some work undertaken to make the public more aware of the effects of trafficking and recognise that it does happen in Scotland. I recognise the new measures that have been outlined by the Cabinet Secretary this afternoon. Trafficking in Scotland involves sexual exploitation but there are also instances of domestic servitude, labour exploitation, organ removal and the operation of criminal gangs. We saw an increase in potential victims of trafficking in Scotland last year which could be attributed to the bill and a concerted effort to tackle the issue but we must always be alert. As this strategy progresses it is important that we continue to see increased detection but we must be conscious that ultimately we all wish to see an eradication of human trafficking in Scotland and at some point we would hope to see a downward trajectory in the numbers. What the statistics can tell us is who is being trafficked, how they are being trafficked and where they are being trafficked. We know that the number of potential victims was split equally between male and female and that 69 per cent were adults compared to 31 per cent who were children. We also know that the majority of adult females were trafficked for sexual exploitation, female children for a combination of domestic servitude and labour exploitation while male adults and children are predominantly trafficked for labour exploitation. We need to ensure that this strategy and our efforts going forward are as evidence based as they can be. Yet, although we are seeing some success, that is potentially only the tip of the iceberg. Adults must give consent to enter into the national referral mechanism where the statistics originate from. However, in many cases victims are reluctant to come forward, they are scared of retaliation against themselves in Scotland or against their families back home. We also need often to overcome language or cultural barriers plus the difficulty of many being purposefully isolated so that they are unaware of the help that is available. Those numbers, whilst helpful, do not capture the full extent of human trafficking that exists in Scotland. Although there are different ways of exploiting people, sexual commercial exploitation is one area where we could take further action within the law. We need to challenge demand and by support those involved, which means taking a serious look at criminalising the buying of sex, decriminalising the people involved in prostitution and providing long-term support and exiting servities for those exploited through prostitution. That approach could work to disrupt the market for commercial sexual exploitation and feed into our work on tackling human trafficking. I welcome the work that the Government and outside agencies have undertaken so far to ensure that the public are aware of the signs to look for if they expect someone to be a victim of trafficking, from the physical experience to an appearance to isolation, few or no personal effects to restricted freedom of movement. However, there is much work still to be done. Government polling from earlier this year shows that, while many people believe that trafficking is an issue, the closer it gets to home, the less they believe it is happening near them. 63 per cent believe that trafficking is an issue in the rest of the world, 53 per cent believe that it occurs in Europe and 30 per cent believe that it occurs in the UK. Yet only 14 per cent believe that human trafficking is an issue in Scotland, dropping to only 5 per cent when people are asked about what happens in their own local area. As an amendment sets out today, local authorities have a key role to play in tackling human trafficking and supporting recovery. Jamie Greene also mentioned the role of third party organisations who play a vital role in that as well. At statutory level, all child victims must be provided with support and protection and the responsibility for co-ordinating such services' lives with local authorities. They also have the powers to identify and disrupt perpetrators of human trafficking. For them to be able to use those powers, such as the licensing of houses of multiple occupation or environmental health, or to be able to look after child victims, we must be able to ensure that they are fully resourced and funded in that difficult task. If we want the strategy to be effective, we cannot continue to keep seeing cuts to local authority budgets. We keep expecting our councils to do more and more with less and less, and that is not sustainable. The same is true of our police. We have high expectations of our police and their role in modern Scotland is changing and becoming ever more complex. They are dealing with challenges that were unknown at the start of this Parliament, but Police Scotland is under huge pressure financially and in terms of its governance and leadership. The strategy states that Police Scotland will appropriately record and investigate all forms of trafficking or exploitation as a crime. That is important for informing and developing local services and processes. At the same time, Unison has reported this week that 500 Police Scotland vacancies were not being filled, including in areas at the forefront of criminal activity. That is the good strategy that we all hope will succeed. We must be confident that it is supported and fully resourced. That is why we will be supporting the Scottish Government today in its motion and I urge them to support our amendment. I move the amendment in my name. Thank you. It is always useful to move it if you wish it supported. I now call Adam Tomkins up to five minutes, please. Thank you, Presiding Officer. I am proud that the United Kingdom is a global leader in fighting the evil trade. In human beings for sex and labour exploitation, we all should be. I am proud that, as Home Secretary Theresa May brought forward the Modern Slavery Act, the first of its kind in Europe, that she appointed the world's first anti-slavery commissioner and set up the modern slavery task force to bring together the heads of MI5, MI6 and the national crime agency to co-ordinate the United Kingdom's response to criminal gangs operating across the world. The act has been described as an international benchmark to which other jurisdictions aspire, and rightly so. I am pleased also that Scotland is playing its part. The Trafficking and Exploitation Scotland Bill was introduced into this Parliament six months after Theresa May's modern slavery bill had been introduced into the House of Commons. Trafficking and Exploitation Bill was passed with all party support, and we continue to support it now that it is in operation. We will be supporting both the Government's motion and Claire Baker's amendment at decision time today. In introducing the milestone modern slavery bill, Theresa May said that this landmark legislation sends the strongest possible signal to criminals that if you are involved in this vile trade, you will be arrested, you will be prosecuted and you will be locked up. It says to victims, you are not alone, we are here to help you. We must be mindful that legislative measures are a starting point, not a panacea. When the Trafficking and Exploitation Bill was introduced into the Scottish Parliament in 2015, figures indicated that there were 55 victims of human trafficking in Scotland. That number has now increased to 150, of which almost a third are children. We know that there will be many more victims of this hidden crime, possibly even running into the thousands, who do not realise that they are being treated as mere commodities, that they are being mercilessly exploited or who are unable or too frightened to come forward. The UK's modern slavery act has had some time to bed in, and in its first year of operation it was reviewed by Barrister Caroline Hockey. In her report, she succinctly encapsulated the complexities of human trafficking and the enormity of the task that lies ahead across the UK's jurisdictions. She observed that professionals can often miss the indicators of exploitation. This can be a resource-heavy area of investigation. Human beings who are treated as a commodity are rarely used for a single purpose. The offending associated with them, as the cabinet secretary said in his opening remarks, can include sham marriages, identity fraud, false benefit claims, rape, false imprisonment violence and a range of other crimes. The evidence of those crimes is often voluminous, which presents challenges of court management, especially as regards juries, and victims often have multiple vulnerabilities, mental health issues, learning difficulties, financial desperation, alcohol or drug dependency. Many victims also have a fear of authority figures or come from places where those in uniform or associated with law enforcement have a negative reputation. Cases involving trafficking across borders require investigators and prosecutors to find data from organisations based overseas, which can be time-consuming and costly. We need to bring human trafficking out of the shadows, and I welcome the trafficking and exploitation strategy as the next step in preventing and combating the most degrading of crimes. It is a multi-pronged approach towards supporting and protecting victims, disrupting the activities of perpetrators and addressing the conditions that foster trafficking. It addresses many of the issues that Caroline Hockey touched on in her review of the UK legislation, but it will require close monitoring over the coming months and years to assess its impact on the ground. Human trafficking is without doubt a challenging and complex crime and one that is constantly changing. We have made good progress in Scotland since the act was passed in 2015, when one police Scotland officer described the force's response to human trafficking as just fighting in the trenches. However, that progress cannot and should not be impeded by rigid thinking or static strategy. As Claire Baker's amendment points out, adequate resourcing is key. In our view, we need to build on the successes of the recent legislative measures in this area and go further to focus on the exploitation of vulnerable men, women and children for their labour, people who are moved around our own country and between nations as if they were not human at all. We know that most adult and child victims of trafficking in 2016 were exploited for labour, while a BBC documentary reported that people are now the second most lucrative criminal commodity after drugs. That cannot be allowed in modern society and the Scottish Conservatives will support action to ensure that it comes to an end once and for all. We now move to the open debate and speeches of no more than four minutes please. I call Ash Denham to be followed by Oliver Mundell. People are now the second most lucrative criminal commodity in Scotland. Yes, you heard that correctly. The sale of human beings, second only to drugs, is the most profitable business for criminals, according to a recent BBC documentary. Last year, nearly 4,000 people in the UK suffered at the hands of modern-day slavers, encountering violence, rape, mental abuse and forced labour. The Scottish Government has set forth a very exhaustive strategy to stem the flow of trafficking in Scotland, and I particularly welcome the strategy's focus on victim support and recovery. As we debate how to make Scotland a hostile place for traffickers, I would like to use my time today to speak on commercial sexual exploitation, which is, along with forced labour, the primary cause of human trafficking. In fact, across the EU, human trafficking for the purpose of sexual exploitation is the most reported form of trafficking, according to a 2016 report from Europol. In Scotland last year, 57 per cent of females, many of them children, were trafficked for the purposes of sexual exploitation. The business model is easy enough to understand. Prostitution is the market. The market creates demand. The demand fuels the need for more and more trafficking. Unlike a drug, a girl can be sold over and over again, creating huge profits. The industries of trafficking and prostitution are linked, and so to reduce one is to reduce the other. No market equals no demand. No demand equals no trafficking. If Scotland is to become a hostile place for traffickers, we should look at policy that will specifically challenge that demand and therefore reduce the market of prostitution. That is why, at the SNP conference in March, we successfully passed a motion on a Scottish model of prostitution. The policy would decriminalise the sale of sex, criminalise the purchase of sex and offer a means of support and exit for those who want to leave prostitution. Challenging demand with legislation is required, because research evidence has demonstrated that even if punters suspect that a girl is underage and or trafficked, it would not stop the majority of them going ahead. The demand-challenging policy, which is modelled on a law pioneered in Sweden in 1999, aims to protect the exploited and punish the exploiter. That protection is critical, for as UN definitions around trafficking emphasise, victims are always in a position of vulnerability with little alternative but to submit to abuse. Scotland, unfortunately, is now in a position where this is becoming more urgent. We are now surrounded by countries, Ireland, Northern Ireland, Sweden, Norway, Iceland and now France, that have adopted this Nordic-style model on prostitution. Sweden cut its demand for prostitution in half over a decade, and Norway too has seen a reduction both in buying sex and in trafficking for sexual exploitation. On a wire-tapped conversation recorded by Swedish police after they legislated, traffickers were overheard discussing potential locations. Don't bother with Sweden, they said. Traffickers don't care where they go, so long as it's easy for them to do business, so the more difficult we can make it for them, the better. If sex traffickers are displaced from our neighbouring countries, both Ireland and Northern Ireland recently legislated on this, we must not let them turn to Scotland. In combating human trafficking as a whole, let us enact laws that punish sexual exploitation rather than aid it. Together, let us ensure that the sale and exploitation of human beings are never a top commodity, and let's send out the message to sex traffickers that Scotland is closed to your business. Thank you. I call Oliver Mundell to be followed by Ruth McGuire. Mr Mundell, please. Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. Human trafficking is, as today's motion states, one of the most abhorrent and truly inhumane of crimes. It seems alien to us, something of the past, yet it is a practice that continues now. It's murky and dark and challenges our understanding of what human beings are capable of doing to others. But we must not allow ourselves to believe it is impossible to eradicate it. Modern slavery, just as the overt slave trade that blights our past, must be brought to an end. Right across the political divide, both in this chamber and across our United Kingdom, it's clear that all parties and all politicians and the overwhelming majority of our society recognise that these practices are wrong. They are in a front to all of us and they are in a front to our humanity, and that's why it's so important that we are united in taking steps to bring these vile practices to an end. We only have to look at the recent BBC documentary, which identified dozens of sham marriages across Scotland, 70 of them registered in Glasgow and a third of those in the Govanhill district alone, to understand just how current and relevant our actions and this strategy are going to be, and how important it is that both the Government or other organisations and indeed stakeholders are coming together to form a comprehensive plan of action to tackle the causes and bring perpetrators to account. Indeed, 150 people in Scotland were recorded as official victims of trafficking last year, but many of those who have experience of working in this area believe that the actual number of victims is in the thousands. This is not acceptable and we cannot afford to stand by. I welcomed the recent passage of the Human Trafficking and Exploitation Act 2015, and I understand that the implementation of some parts of the act are still on-going. We on these benches welcome the toughening of the law and the specific offences and powers that have been given to courts in order to prevent and punish those who carry out trafficking, as well as the issuing of new instructions to prosecutors on how trafficking victims should be treated if they are alleged to have committed other offences. Alongside legislation, we need to do more, and that is where I believe that putting a comprehensive strategy in place will help to bring together all relevant agencies and promote partnership working. The new 90-day period that is outlined by the Cabinet Secretary will also give time for support to be delivered. In addition, I believe that the aims of the strategy itself will help to bring this issue out of the darkness and into the light, focusing people's minds on identifying victims, identifying perpetrators and disrupting the activity. It will also bring both the local and the global aspects of this heinous practice to the fore. I therefore welcome today's debate, and I look forward to seeing this strategy implemented in full, and I hope that in due course we will have other such debates where it is possible to look at how effective the implementation of the strategy has been. I simply end by saying that we must be mindful that this practice still exists, and it still exists on our watch. Therefore, inaction is not an option. The use of human rights and dignity is incumbent upon us as MSPs and as a nation to do all that is in our power, to make Scotland a hostile place for those vile individuals who traffic and exploit human beings, to ensure that those who are caught are brought to justice and to support victims and survivors. For this reason, I strongly welcome the Human Trafficking and Exploitation Scotland Act passed by this Parliament in 2015, which consolidated and strengthened the existing law. There is now a single offence for all kinds of trafficking for the first time. The maximum penalty for trafficking is life imprisonment, and police and prosecutors now have a more robust set of tools to prevent and detect trafficking and to bring those responsible to justice. The act of course also requires Scottish ministers to develop and publish a strategy, and I welcome the publication of Scotland's first trafficking and exploitation strategy last month. I look forward to working with colleagues across the chamber and with groups across the country to implement its goals as we move forward. As with so many issues of exploitation, women and girls are disproportionately affected, particularly when it comes to commercial sexual exploitation. As stated in the strategy, Scottish figures about trafficking victims in 2016 showed that female adults were trafficked mainly for the purposes of sexual exploitation. Figures relating to children in particular also indicate that many more female than male victims will experience sexual exploitation. Action area 3 of the strategy is focused on addressing the conditions, both local and global, that foster trafficking and exploitations. The conditions that underpin commercial sexual exploitation, women and girls being forced into sexual slavery are clear. First and foremost, it is about demand. It is about a minority of people, predominantly men, wanting to buy sexual access to women and girls. Tara, a Scottish Government-funded organisation who provides support and assistance to adult victims of trafficking, are clear. We know that women are trafficked into Scotland each year for commercial sexual exploitation. This encompasses all aspects of the sex industry, including lap and table dancing, stripping, prostitution, escort services, internet sex sites and pornography. Scotland has a flourishing sex industry and women are trafficked to meet the demand that it creates. The demand is in turn rooted in the deep and profound gender inequality that permeates our society, an inequality that allows women to be devalued as human beings, bodies objectified and commodified and then bought and sold, used and traded. Tackling both the immediate demand and the deeper gender inequality that underpins it must be seen as a key tool when it comes to tackling the wider evil of human trafficking. The outcome and vision for the trafficking and exploitation strategy is to eliminate human trafficking and exploitation. The cabinet secretary described this vision as challenging and ambitious, but also absolutely necessary. To have a hope of achieving this vision, we must address the harm caused by the sex industry. To end the exploitation, we have to end the demand. Presiding Officer, it will be challenging, but it is also absolutely necessary. Thank you, Ms McGuire, Mary Fee, to be followed by Kate Forbes. First, as my colleague Claire Baker has already made reference to, it would be remiss of me in my opening remarks not to mention the contribution of my colleague Jenny Marra, who works tirelessly to force the issue of human trafficking on to the Scottish Government's agenda. Presiding Officer, the tone in the chamber this afternoon has rightly been a consensual one. There is a clear commitment from parties of all colours to end the truly important crime of human trafficking. Human trafficking is a stain in our society. It is an abuse of human rights and dignity. I would like to reiterate Scottish Labour's support for the Government's strategy to tackle human trafficking in exploitation, which has the unequivocal aim of making Scotland a hostile place for human traffickers. However, I, along with my Scottish Labour colleagues, note with concern that the SNP cuts to both local authorities and Police Scotland, which I am concerned may hinder the implementation and effectiveness of that strategy. Human trafficking is degrading and dehumanising, and there can be few worse crimes than the transaction involving the selling and exploitation of one human being by another. It is quite simply a human rights abuse. It is a crime lacking in humanity and it is one that is motivated by greed. Human trafficking relies on control, with victims often subject to grooming and violence from their traffickers. And make absolutely no mistake, human trafficking is a form of modern day slavery. I am sure that every member of the Scottish Parliament and all members of the public who watched last month's BBC Scotland documentary, Humans for Sale, will have been touched by the immense suffering caused by this truly abhorrent awful crime. The documentary revealed women's harrowing experiences of sham marriages, rape and sexual exploitation. And Europol has stated that Scotland has been specifically targeted by human traffickers, with victims, particularly young women, being recruited by organised crime gangs before being sold to potential grooms. And across Scotland there are a plethora of fantastic third sector and voluntary organisations working to support victims of human trafficking. For example, the Tara service, which is based in the Glasgow region, Migrant Help and Childline, which operates across Britain, as well as the Scottish Women's Rights Centre, which has bases both in Hamilton and Glasgow. And those organisations rightly deserve recognition for their incredible work. They offer support and advice to victims of human trafficking. Those organisations are undoubtedly the best of us, full of humanity and shiny examples of hope, despite the fact that they operate under incredibly difficult circumstances. I am residing, in minding to a close, I would like to once again reiterate Scottish Labour's support for the Scottish Government's trafficking and exploitation strategy. However, I must once again emphasise that the Scottish Government's cuts to Police Scotland and local authorities do risk hindering the implementation and effectiveness of this strategy. And it is vitally important that this abhorrent crime, this human rights abuse, this form of modern day slavery is ended once and for all and Scotland must become a hostile place for traffickers. Thank you. I call Kate Forbes, we are followed by John Finnie. Miss Forbes, please. Thank you, Presiding Officer. Slavery, it conjures up history lessons in school, human beings being transported and then used and abused for somebody else's gain. In another era, in another world, we don't think of Scotland in 2017, we don't think that there are more people in forced labour worldwide today than when abolitionist William Wilberforce was fighting to end slavery. Why is that? Because we don't think twice about the teenager at the car wash or the young girl helping at the nail bar or the hard-working farm hand or the house with the suspiciously closed curtains. People trafficked and enslaved into manual labour, domestic servitude, prostitution, pornography, forced begging, benefit fraud, criminality and organ removal, forced to work for a little or no pay living in poor conditions with minimal freedom. That is happening in Scotland today in 2017 and the Scottish Government's human trafficking and exploitation strategies, three action areas of identifying victims, of identifying the perpetrators and of identifying the partners that we need to work with. They cannot be delivered soon enough for the mother and daughter from Eastern Europe who are locked in a room to serve the men who come and rape them at the same time or for the workers at a hotel in a remote Highland village who have paid thousands to come from Bangladesh and find themselves working from 5am to midnight without pay or freedom or for the Slovakian girls lured into sham marriages or sold to Glasgow gangs for sex or for the 16-year-old Vietnamese boy found cowering in bushes and in Barton who had probably been trafficked to Russia and then to Scotland. For each of those genuine cases whose stories we know because they have been rescued, there are thousands more like them and they are not just out there somewhere but here in Scotland often most hidden because we are still so ignorant of the problem. I am delighted that the Scottish Government's strategy identifies the need for partnership at every level locally and globally, politically and socially. One such partner could be international justice mission who works with justice systems across the world to rescue victims, to bring criminals to justice, to restore survivors and to strengthen justice systems. It is the largest anti-slavery organisation in the world and most importantly it works across borders. I want to finish with two stories of freedom because they highlight the freedom that we are longing for for every human being in Scotland and across the world. It also highlights the importance of working across borders. In 2015, a man living in London was convicted for sexually exploiting children via a webcam and possessing over 4,000 indecent images of children. On the other side of the world, international justice mission worked with the police to rescue four children including seven-year-old Marco who were held as slaves in the Philippines and trafficked to meet cyber sex demands by pedophiles in the UK. Marco and the others are now in a Government after care shelter in the Philippines and enrolled in school. Another rescue operation by international justice mission was in India between the Indian Police and IGM which saw 564 children, women and men rescued from forced labour slavery at a massive brick factory in Chennai. The families lived in tiny tents or rooms earning less than £5 a week with pregnant women expected to work as well. A Government officer was reported to ask the crowd of workers who wants to go free and was met with a stunned silence. Slowly, one man raised his hand and then another and before long dozens of tired hands had shot into the air. There are thousands of tired hands across the world waiting for freedom and that is why we need the strategy to deliver that. Thank you very much, Ms Forbes. I was loath to interrupt those two examples that we are very telling. I call John Finnie to be followed by Liam McArthur. Mr Finnie, please. I would like to join with colleagues in recognising the work of Jenny Marra on this particular field. Indeed, you led the scrutiny as convener of the Justice Committee in the last session of the bill. Looking back on our stage 1 report and particularly a spife briefing that we alluded to in there, it is very self-evident from what we have heard that this is the reality but it is worth repeating, and that is that victims of human trafficking are by and large already extremely vulnerable people, which makes them easy targets for traffickers. In many cases victims are concealed by physical isolation, language or cultural barriers. Those factors permeate everything that we have heard so far, and often with fear of retaliation, either directly against themselves or with families back in the homeland, coercive behaviour, indeed something that we are presently dealing with in the vile domestic setting, coercive behaviour, is a key element of this. For that reason it is very difficult to estimate actual numbers. There has been a lot of work done on this, that our own Equal Opportunities Committee, Migration and Trafficking in 2010, the Equality and Human Rights Committee, did a human trafficking in Scotland report in 2011, and I would like to mention some of that. That is about the act, the recruitment of people, and of course we know that that is taking place worldwide. The transportation of people, and there is obviously vigilance required by those who guard our borders. We heard stories of people very directly flying in, but it is their demeanour that gives them away. The transfer became a very important element of this legislation, because we know that this commodity, this resource, once it arrives in Scotland, these human beings are transferred within Scotland, and the legislation had to be very clear to pick up that, and the aspect of harboring. The means, and as I have said, it is about coercion, it is about threats, deception, fraud, abuse of power, and dealing with it. The purpose has been alluded to, it is about exploitation, including sexual exploitation, forced labour. The Equality and Human Rights Commission, on their particular issue of sexual exploitation, it said that a particular niche traffic prostitution was not a non-street issue, but was located in, as they referred to, sex flats. We do know that that has a disproportionate impact on women and girls, and certainly I and my party commend the robust police action on that. It is about multiagency work to address this exploitation, and as Ash Denham said, it is about support to exit when the opportunity arises. I want to touch on a couple of things in the very short time, and that is what the cabinet secretary alluded to the days. He talked in a previous online statement about listening to victims themselves. It is apparent that that has happened. I think that the 45 days was good, and I have raised it to 90 days of support. It is excellent, so I congratulate the cabinet secretary on that. The requirement to train professionals to support the signs. The reality is that a lot of the victims do not know that they are victims. In a previous debate, I alluded to a young man from Vietnam who was managing a cannabis farm outside, not far from Inverness. He thought that he was outside London. There were issues around his age. I commend the scrutiny that we did on the statutory defence and the comments that the cabinet secretary made about the Lord Advocate's instructions. We must be absolutely clear who is a victim and who is unaccused in this instance. The reality is that if you have been manhandled and taken around the world and abused, you are a victim and you are not unaccused. I think that it is good to have the clarity around that. I know that there is no time left to say a fraction of what I plan to say, but it is quite a part that partnership is key and that is the way that we will progress. Thank you very much. Mr Finlay, I call Liam McArthur to be followed by Sandra White. Mr McArthur, please. I think that there have been some very excellent speeches already this afternoon, but could I congratulate Kate Forbes on what I thought was an extremely powerful and indeed unsettling speech in all the right ways? The Scottish Liberal Democrats were strong supporters of the 2015 legislation, which I think has provided the basis to make Scotland a more hostile environment for those intent on trafficking and exploitation. Momentum of maintaining that momentum is, of course, key and the publication of the strategy, followed, I hope, by the action plan, is essential. The three principles of that strategy, a focus on victims and potential victims, a commitment to partnership working and a determination to learn from what works and what doesn't work to respond quickly and anticipate changes to risks and circumstances, I think, do provide a solid framework within which to take forward our collective efforts to combat this most grotesque and often insidious of crimes. Understandably, when most people think of human trafficking and exploitation in the image, there is conjured up as a force prostitution, drug and even child trafficking, but these crimes can be complex, very often hidden and are constantly evolving and they are not simply committed by and against those from outwith the UK. I think that the strategy very clearly states that adults and children, including UK citizens, are trafficked and exploited within and between communities, both rural and urban, in Scotland and across the UK as a whole. This is the uncomfortable truth and one we must be honest and confronting if we are to have any hope of eliminating this scourge. Turning to the action plan to come, let me flag up briefly a couple of points. Firstly, there needs to be a recognition that trafficking and exploitation can arise outwith the vulnerabilities of individuals and communities, poverty, mental health, disability and many others. We must therefore be doing much more to reduce vulnerability through the collective and collaborative action and targeted interventions by health, social care and education providers. Of course, this already happens, but I think that it has undoubtedly been made more difficult as Claire Baker said by the squeeze on budgets and in many cases the reduction in staffing levels. With heavier workloads, staff often have insufficient time. With the scaling back or even the removal of some services within our communities, the opportunity to problem spot and to intervene early is diminished. I would respectfully suggest that the Scottish Liberal Democrat proposals for a penny on income tax to invest in key education services would have eased some of this pressure while also enhancing our chances of delivering many of the strategies very laudable objectives. The risks have been identified. Of course, there must also be opportunities to share those concerns with police in a timely manner. That said, it is essential that we guard against excessive inappropriate and disproportionate sharing of individuals' personal details. The other point I wish to raise before concluding relates to the importance of collaboration on an international scale. Self-evidently, any effort to disrupt, far less prevent trafficking or exploitation requires police and security agencies to work in order to ensure that there is an advantage that they will all too willingly exploit. From the wreckage of the increasingly chaotic Brexit negotiations, therefore, needs to be salvaged the ability for cross-border co-operation to combat serious organised crime. Retention of the European arrest war, membership of Europol and access to EU information databases would be the starter for time. In addition, we need to see the reopening of the Dubs amendment. Failure to do so exposes children, child refugees to heightened risk of falling victim to trafficking. In conclusion, I welcome today's debate and the strategy that gives rise to it. That must be translated into an action plan that delivers on the principles of being victim-focused, collaborative and approach and committed to constant improvement and I support the Government's motion and the amendment in Clare Baker's name. Thank you very much, Mr McArthur. I call Sandra White. We fall by Jamie Greene. Miss White, please. Thank you very much, Presiding Officer. I pleased to be speaking in this debate on human trafficking exploitation bill on issues that I know that many here have debated on numerous occasions and I am very pleased that we have reached this particular stage having raised this issue along with others in the Scottish Parliament since 1999 and having moved slightly forward I am very pleased to see that the hard work has paid off with the legislation being brought forward to the Parliament and I want to thank Jenny Marra and the many individuals and group who have worked so hard to bring this to fruition and I do want to wish the bill well or the legislation well as it does pass through the Parliament. I also want to congratulate the media which is something I think that we don't do very often in this place but I do want to congratulate the media and particularly the programme which has been mentioned by many for their very investigative documentary which, as we know, highlighted the absolute clear link between Eastern European crime gangs and Asian organised crime in Glasgow. I have already mentioned this by a number of members also. I must also mention the soap opera, if you want to call it that, River City who have been running a storyline about women being trafficked for sex. I think that it is excellent to pick up on this particular stuff. Human trafficking may not be an easy subject to view but I think that it is really essential to get the message across that human trafficking has no place not just in Scotland but in any part of the world or in any society and I do thank them for highlighting that. I do want to pick up on some particular areas that have already been mentioned particularly the commercial sexual exploitation which was mentioned by Ash Denham in a very thoughtful speech. When Ash Denham mentioned being a business supply and demand and eventually prostitution I thought that it was a pretty powerful way to put forward that particular subject. I do want to thank Ash Denham and others who I fully supported for pursuing this and successfully having the Swedish Polish of challenging the demand to end prostitution passed at SNP conference sometimes not an easy thing to do so I congratulate the people there who got that passed as well. Liam McArthur mentioned poverty and undoubtedly the threat of poverty runs through all of this the reason why many people are trafficked and many people are duped as you might say when you saw that programme from the various areas from BBC from Slovakia etc the poverty was absolutely tangible particularly young women were duped into coming over here in other parts of the UK as well thinking that they were going to get a better life and actually ended up trafficked and having an absolutely abhorrent existence even to the effect that they were sent back and then trafficked again and that's just something which is just abhorrent to any particular society. I thought Kate Forbes mentioned an issue which I had already mentioned as I had a number of constituents affected by this particular issue was the exploitation of trafficking for work where we had many people who were trafficked as chefs, as waiters working on building sites etc basically who were brought over and found they were sleeping maybe 10 to a room their passport was taken off and their money was removed from them and really they were working for something like £1 a day so whereas the sexual exploitation of women and children is absolutely abhorrent and absolutely being exploited too and I do echo everyone that says that we must have cross-border working throughout Europe as well Thank you very much Presiding Officer Thank you very much Ms White I call Jamie Greene to be followed by Fulton McGregor who will get to speak if he presses request to speak button and he'll also be the last speaker in the open debate Mr Greene Thank you Deputy Presiding Officer there's very little time available today I think we're also rushing through our speeches to get as much in as we can I think what's clear today I've found that last speech very interesting that the reasons for human trafficking are so wide and varied you know we know that forced labour sex workers, child exploitation and domestic servitude are the main ones but it can manifest itself in a whole different variety of ways and people coming to this country thinking they're getting a better life and being encapsulated in trafficking circumstances I guess I shouldn't really be surprised that there are recorded figures of trafficking in Scotland but I am surprised and indeed I'm quite shocked it's a sort of practice you never really believe sits in your own doorstep but experts believe that the official figures really underestimate the number of victims each year the official figures around 150 but many in the third sector believe it could be in the thousands and I think part of that is that the image that we have of what a modern slave might be doesn't always really fit the stereotype you know we talked a little bit about some of the TV documentaries that have covered this I recall one from I think it was last year on BBC Three about the story of a Polish immigrant who had come to the UK a barley six foot guy who came here to do labour work was forced into agricultural work against his will and the way he was forced is that they'd taken away his passport he was given limited access to money give confined accommodation that he couldn't escape from that group of people so given I shall John Finnie I'm grateful for the member taking an intervention on that point I think he makes a very valid point about employment would the member agree with me that it's very important employers robustly scrutinise the source of their employees Jamie Greene I do agree I think especially in those fields of labour very manual work is even more important that employers should be looking at where their staff are coming from especially if they're using an agency they might think they're doing the right thing by using a legitimate agency but actually behind that there may be unscrupulous work going on so couldn't agree more I think given that fear and control bearing in mind that fear is a way of controlling people how do we encourage more victims to come forward that's one of the things I think we haven't really touched on as much as we could have today how do we encourage victims to come and seek help I think it's worth noting also that the serious organised crime strategy shows that human exploitation is not just confined to big cities it happens in small towns and villages and even in rural economies as well rural communities it's happening under our nose so how aware of this are we or do we choose to close our eyes to what is going around us as a society I welcome the strategy I think it's widely supported it focuses on the victims but also really touches on how we identify perpetrators and disrupt their working practice they're very little to disagree with in the strategy to be honest and I think the focus on victims is important the long term impact of being a victim of this sort is quite inconceivable but it is really important that they overcome that if they are to reintegrate into society as is always the case with these strategies measurement and monitoring is the key to success and I think the importance is on the Scottish Government and this Parliament to regularly review the strategy and its progress the title of this debate is making Scotland a hostile place for traffickers and I couldn't agree more the message from this place should go out and it should be an unequivocal and unapologetic message to human traffickers that they are simply not welcome here and we will not tolerate your activity the human trafficking and exploitation act introduced a number of new powers in the option of life imprisonment for those who are prosecuted and I believe we should not shy away from using these powers to their full extent as it stands trafficking is still an unacceptable level for all of us in Scotland and across the UK collaboration will be key collaboration across governments across police forces across enforcement and border agencies and more importantly as we saw today collaboration across the political divide will make this a success thank you very much Mr Greene I call Fulton McGregor the last week in the open date then we obviously move to closing speeches Mr McGregor thank you Presiding Officer as others have said human trafficking is one of the most important issues that we face and it must be eradicated as soon as possible and I am proud that this Parliament has put in place robust legislation with meaningful punishments for those who engage in this abhorrent crime I am pleased that the Scottish Government and the people of Scotland are serious about doing everything in our power to stop trafficking in this country the strategy as its first priority makes clear that victims will be the priority and will as they should be offered every bit of support necessary to aid them to safety and recovery the legislation passed two years ago also puts victims first something that is welcomed by international watch dogs such as Amnesty International catching and prosecuting perpetrators of human trafficking is crucial to preventing it in the future but every effort must be made to ensure that the victims are well cared for at all times Presiding Officer I welcome the plans in this new strategy to run a public awareness campaign there will be times that people who are victims of trafficking come into contact with the general public with all of us the latest figures show that 149 victims were identified in Scotland in 2016 and that does show an increase from 2015 which while worrying that there are more victims year on year shows that the procedures are in place are getting results and I think back to my own time as a social worker and the training that we had was quite robust in terms of child protection and everybody from 2004 onwards was trained quite well in that kind of area but something human trafficking wasn't covered and I think that this will be welcomed over the last couple of years identifying and new training for professionals so clearly the authorities aren't yet identifying all victims and this is a much bigger problem in Scotland than we would hope and I think John Finnie amongst others mentioned some of the issues that are around when identifying these people we also know that these figures don't even provide the total number of victims as adult victims are required to consent before being referred under the national referral mechanism as has been discussed Presiding Officer, the migrant help and trafficking awareness raising alliance was supported by the Scottish Government 700,000 in 2016-17 and this has given them resources to support victims this allows them to provide accommodation medical treatment and psychological counselling as well as translators, legal services compensation and I'm glad that the Scottish Government has been investing in this I noticed that my Labour colleagues earlier did say that where they welcomed the legislation they had concerns over the provision to the police service and I would ask hopefully both colleagues would be joined with me and hoping that we could have all the powers that this Parliament in order to raise the money and distribute the money as required because I think this is something that's very consensual this Parliament and this Parliament would agree on despite what party they're involved in and for the justice for victims the recent act makes the prosecution of perpetrators much more straightforward and that should be welcomed a life sentence is now at the disposal of the courts and those who engage in human trafficking should take note as others have said in Scotland your actions are not welcome to continue if you carry on I welcome the recognition of the Scottish Government that more needs to be done in information gathering and data analysis as well as information sharing between authorities and where appropriate other countries that should enhance the detection of patterns of trafficking make it easier for authorities to put a stop to it earlier Presiding Officer to conclude I welcome all the steps being taken to eradicate human trafficking and to close for Labour Five minutes please, Ms Baker if you're ready Thank you, Presiding Officer Today has been an interesting debate and I'm pleased to see such consensus around the need to tackle human trafficking The trade in people and the modern day slavery of men, women and children is abhorrent and has no place in Scotland Adam Tomkin has described it as a need to come out of the shadows and many members reflected that in their forceful speeches this afternoon the cabinet secretary said in the forward to the strategy this is a living document so it's important that we listen to all views There's a few things the cabinet secretary said I would like to welcome the increase in the days of support up to 90 days which is a doubling of the current allowance and that is very much welcomed I also welcome the anti-trafficking monitoring group their emphasis on the importance of the approach that's been adopted by the Crown Office around non-prosecution and describing it as exemplary practice that's much to be welcomed and also the importance of partnerships working across borders and as we do have uncertainties ahead in terms of our relationship with Europe it is important that we maintain the networks that have been built up and have been effective John Finnie spoke about the importance of multi-agency working and Fulton MacGregor talked about the importance of information sharing and tackling human trafficking is not just an issue for the justice secretary Adam Tomkins made a fair point that this is also a UK Government effort and it is one that requires close monitoring and the publication of the strategy is often the easy part now it's down to the implementation which can be more challenging a number of members talked about people being the second most lucrative commodity in modern day trading and the importance of support for victims and the importance of support for recovery we need to be aware that boys and girls like men and women can experience trafficking in different ways and they therefore may need different support and John Finnie described people as being easy targets and having multiple vulnerabilities so we are dealing with very complex issues Ash Denham and Ruth Maguire both talked about demand as what is driving much of the exploitation that happens with people and they both argued for decriminalising the sale of sex and criminalising the buyer and they might be aware that Rhoda Grant took forward a member's bill in the last Parliament that didn't receive enough support across the chamber to take forward this kind of argument so we might see some progress in this current Parliament we did hear shocking reports about sexual trafficking this afternoon and the level of abuse that's involved and also the level of awareness that is among buyers and their willingness to become involved in that crime the examples of Sweden and Norway have been given who have created much more hostile environments and there is a serious risk that we could see an increase in Scotland as other countries take action if we are left behind on this agenda we do have to address issues of public perception and Sandra White made a good point about the effective ways we can communicate with people whether that's through soap operas or through documentaries and having television that appeals to people Oliver Mundell talked about the importance of focusing people's minds on identifying victims and human trafficking does happen in Scotland how do we raise awareness that this is an issue that takes part in all our communities and while members talked about commercial sexual exploitation there are also many victims in forced labour and particularly in services that many of us are using everyday the importance of the victims experience I think is to be recognised of being able to listen to their experience and understand the reasons why they've become trapped in many of these situations often without being evident to themselves of the situation that they're in Kate Forbes talked about the prevalence of nail bars car washes forced begging this kind of activity and it can be difficult then to identify the victims and the perpetrators and these are often services that we come into contact with everyday and you're often dealing with victims who are just people who are trying to find themselves and I think Kate Forbes gave human faces to the strategy that we are discussing this afternoon you're also dealing with people who are often tricked into coming to the UK and as Jamie Greene described the control and abuse of forced labour that takes part there is a role for employers and I would argue that there's also a role for trade unions here in raising profile I mean I think it has been an interesting debate this afternoon I think we also need to recognise it as a global issue and I think members touched on this when they talked about the reasons why people are trafficked and why the attraction of the UK can be a strong pull for people and how they can then be easily exploited but we need to make sure that when we're reaching out to this group of victims as was mentioned by John Finnie that we do recognise some people have low literacy and language skills particularly if English isn't their first language and we need to make sure that materials can be tailored accordingly for victims so that we can reach out to them now, Presiding Officer, I welcome the strategy but we must ensure that it's followed up with resources and with enforcement and education and we need to see traffickers who are brought to justice and victims escape the clutches of these gangs I hope the strategy is a living document I hope that we can adapt to changing circumstances and to lived experiences of these caught up in such a heinous crime Thank you very much I call Annie Wells to close the Conservative six minutes please Ms Wells Thank you Presiding Officer I have the opportunity to close the debate on behalf of the Scottish Conservatives There have been many thoughtful and helpful contributions from across the chamber this afternoon and I thank all members for their contributions so far This issue is something that I have raised recently at First Minister's Questions when I asked the First Minister about the shocking revelations on the BBC documentary in May which showed young girls who were victims of human trafficking being forced into sham marriages in Govan Hill in Glasgow While the Human Trafficking and Exploitation Scotland Act 2015 and the publication of the Trafficking and Exploitation strategy on 30 May are both welcomed that documentary highlighted the scale of the challenge which faces us if we are to address this sickening abuse which has taken place in our communities I welcome the fact that the act makes it simpler for law enforcement agencies to take action against traffickers by introducing a single offence for all kinds of traffickers and it is also right that the maximum sentence of the criminal law life imprisonment is available to the courts for those who are convicted of trafficking offences This sends a strong and clear message from this Parliament that the systematic abuse of the human rights of those victims at the hands of the perpetrators will attract the fullest and most severe punishment because it sits alongside the most sphere and despicable crimes which are already recognised in Scots law The act also places a clear duty on Scottish ministers to ensure that adult victims have access to support and assistance and to ensure that children who are victims or are vulnerable to being victims of trafficking have an adult guardian made available to them It is crucially important that ministers fulfil this duty because when victims are identified it is essential that the correct support is available to them to help them to re-establish their lives I welcome the action in which the Scottish Government already takes to fund support for all adult victims of human trafficking in Scotland in particular the psychological support which is currently provided by the third sector organisations such as anchor care can be particularly important I cannot begin to imagine the horrific psychological and emotional impact which victims of trafficking must endure but all victims including those of slavery, servitude or forced labour should be included in the support that is offered The strategy commits to considering the issue further but I would urge the Scottish Government to include those victims in its support services without further delay I support the actions which the strategy sets out to identify perpetrators and this must build on the strong powers at the hands of the police and courts to punish those who have been found guilty of trafficking offences We have heard in this debate about the witness service provided by Victim Support Scotland and I think that this kind of support is crucial Often the evidence which we need to bring the perpetrators of crime to justice will come from witnesses who are themselves vulnerable and reluctant to give evidence in court That is why proper support for Victim Support Scotland for witnesses and court procedures which are sensitive to the vulnerabilities of victims and witnesses are essential and the actions which the strategy sets out in this regard are very welcome I also support the strategy's focus on preventing violence against women and girls It's also important that we recognise the huge contribution which the United Kingdom takes to tackling violence against women and girls and as a result exploitation and trafficking across the world through our commitment to spend 0.7 per cent of GDP on international aid The 2015 act requires a review of the strategy within three years of its publication which means we will have the opportunity to measure its effectiveness during the lifetime of this Parliament and it is for all the reasons mentioned by others in this debate of utmost importance that we get the strategy right and address the shameful practices of human trafficking I would encourage all members and all parties to put aside their traditional differences when this difficult issue arises and ensure the Government's actions and strategy are placed under close scrutiny and that any failures are identified and dealt with robustly That must happen on a continuing basis as well as when the formal review takes place in 2020 In conclusion, Presiding Officer I want to recognise the point made clearly by members throughout the debate about the need for co-operation across borders Human trafficking and exploitation of vulnerable people takes place without borders and therefore multi-agency and multinational efforts to tackle this crime are obviously essential Continuing co-operation with our European partners as we leave the EU is essential The UK Government has led efforts internationally to tackle modern slavery and trafficking including by ensuring that ending modern slavery was included in a UN sustainable goal development goal and I am proud that Scotland is part of the UK is leading efforts to end this heinous crime across the globe and everyone in this Parliament should welcome that The Scottish Government strategy gives us the opportunity to build on that success and for that reason it is welcomed on this side of the chamber We will be supporting the motion and the Labour amendment at decision time and we will work constructively with others in this Parliament to achieving the eradication of human trafficking and exploitation Thank you very much Ms Wells I call on Michael Matheson to close with the Government Cabinet Secretary to 5 o'clock please Thank you Presiding Officer and I thank all members for their contribution in the course of this afternoon's debate where a number of important issues have been raised and the whole issue of tackling human trafficking and exploitation and in my view Presiding Officer from the contributions that are made in the course of this debate there is a recognition across the chamber of the complexity in tackling the issue of human trafficking and exploitation I also, like others, want to acknowledge the work that has been carried out by other members of this chamber Jenny Marra, Christina McKelvie and Sandra White over a number of years pressing government, highlighting the issues in order to make sure that we are taking forward all the appropriate measures in order to ensure that we are tackling the issue of human trafficking and exploitation effectively and I am also happy to accept the amendment which has been put forward by Clare Baker this afternoon In Clare Baker's contribution I thought that she made references to a number of interesting statistics particularly the statistics around the perception of whether it was a problem here or whether it was a problem for someone else out with Scotland or the UK To some degree it illustrates the nature of some of the challenge that we have in this particular area of tackling human trafficking and exploitation because very often people have a perception that that is something that does not take place here but the statistics themselves demonstrate that it does take place here in Scotland Members have referred to the increase the number of referrals has increased by 3.4% between 2015-16 from 145 to 150 and since 2013 referrals have increased by 52% Interestingly an equal amount of males and females were referred in 2016 although I know members made particular reference to the impact that it has on females there have been 75 males alongside 75 females referred into the national referral mechanism this year and sexual exploitation is the most common type of exploitation for adult females who are identified in Scotland with labour exploitation being the most common type of exploitation for males who are identified here in Scotland One of the other aspects that the data also highlights is that for the past three years Vietnamese have been the biggest single nationality group of victims who have been referred into the national referral mechanism from Scotland which I think raises a particular point of interest for us to give further consideration to and one that I am already giving consideration to within Government We can take action in a way that Adam Tomkins mentioned in his own contribution about legislation being part of the process, it's the start of the process but in order to take it out of the shadow not only will the strategy help us in achieving that we also have to consider what further work we need to do further upstream at point of origin in the countries where individuals are being trafficked from as well because Evansons demonstrates that if we can take forward appropriate measures in these countries then we can also help to reduce the likelihood of individuals being trafficked as well In his contribution, Oliver Mundell also made reference to the murky dark trade of human trafficking and to some degree I do agree with that it is a dark trade in some aspects of it but also in Katie Forbes' contribution we are very clearly and in Jamie Greene's contribution the very public nature of how some of that human trafficking and exploitation has been taken place through labour exploitation taken place and for someone who was forced to go into becoming a farm labourer we know of case studies of individuals becoming labourers in building sites we've heard of cases that Katie Forbes made reference to in nail bars and also we know for example in the fishing industry I don't want to characterise it as being a particular problem in particular key industries or in particular areas but nevertheless what I do think it demonstrates is that very often for many people this could be happening under your notes an issues about making sure that people have awareness of it and are conscious of it that's why part of the strategy is to take forward that public information campaign which we will be publishing later this year to ensure that it's at the forefront of people's minds when they're considering these issues and I think in the interview I'll give way to Clive Baker Thank you I wonder if the Cabinet Secretary could say if the information will be provided in different languages and recognition of the different communities we might be trying to engage with Cabinet Secretary I think the member makes a very important point when we're already engaging with stakeholders including victims and how we can best shape this particular campaign and that will include looking at whether we need to provide in alternative languages as well and I'll ensure that's part of our consideration I also thought in John Finnie's intervention on Jamie Greene's point around the need for employers to make sure that they are taking forward appropriate checks for individuals that are employing is very important but in addition to that I also think it's important that individuals who are landlords who are letting properties for business purposes are also considering those individuals that they are letting the properties to because we know for many of those who are involved in the issue of human trafficking and human exploitation many of them are involved in serious and organised crime groups organisations that have a whole range of criminality attached to them and that's why the work which Police Scotland are doing and the work that we do through the I chair through the serious and organised crime task force is not just about drugs and what many other people would consider to be serious and organised crime but it is around issues such as human trafficking and human exploitation recognised in the course of this debate by a number of members is the international element of human trafficking and the need to make sure that we are taking forward measures that recognise the cross-border nature of it one of the organisations that provides particular assistance to Police Scotland is that of Europol Europol in supporting drug investigation teams to be able to work across a number of different countries in order to tackle issues such as human trafficking and that will be an important issue as we go forward with the Brexit negotiations to ensure that we retain our membership of Europol and where possible retain access to those joint investigation teams which are not available to associate members equally I think as Liam McArthur highlighted the benefits that come from the European arrest warrant in tackling these types of issues will be of particular importance in making sure that they remain available to us in order to help us in what we are doing to tackle this form of human trafficking The member highlighted the importance of resources in this area and I want to correct Mary Fee particularly on the issue of Police Scotland's budget there is no cut to Police Scotland's budget in fact Police Scotland's budget is increasing and it will increase for the rest of this parliamentary session and we have also in this year alone increased the police reform budget to allow them to continue to take forward their transformational work that is important though that agencies work in a collaborative fashion Police Scotland can't resolve this issue on their own we can't expect local authorities to deal with all of these issues on their own and we can't expect the third sector to deal with it all on their own but also within the public sector is recognising that education health and many other parts of our public sector have an important part to play in making sure that they play their role in helping to make Scotland those who want to peddle the human misery of human trafficking and exploitation the legislation that this Parliament has put in place will make sure that we have the right legislation to take robust measures against those who do perpetrate human trafficking and exploitation when they are prosecuted the strategy will help us to make sure we build on that legislation in supporting victims and in making sure that we have the right legislation to tackle human trafficking as a Government we are determined to make Scotland make sure Scotland is a hostile place for human trafficking and I welcome the support from members across the chamber here this afternoon for the strategy which we now have in place thank you very much that concludes our debate on human trafficking and exploitation there are two questions one in the name of Michael Matheson on human trafficking and exploitation be agreed are we all agreed we are agreed and the final question is the motion 6031 in the name of Michael Matheson as amended be agreed are we all agreed we are agreed that concludes decision time when I move to members business the name of Neil Findlay