 The next item of business is a statement by Michael Matheson on human trafficking, first annual progress report. The cabinet secretary will take questions at the end of his statement and so there should be no interventions or interruptions. I call on Michael Matheson 10 minutes please, cabinet secretary. I am sure that all in this chamber agree that human trafficking is a terrible crime and an appalling abuse of human rights. It targets the most vulnerable both across the globe and here in Scotland and the impact on victims is devastating. In 2015, this Parliament unanimously passed the Human Trafficking and Exploitation Scotland Act and I laid the first trafficking and exploitation strategy before Parliament in May 2017. The strategy was the result of extensive joint working and consultation. It includes the cross-party group on human trafficking and reflects the views of victims themselves. During this first year of strategy implementation, we have continued to work in partnership with victims, with support organisations such as TARA, Migrant Help and the Scottish Guardian Service and with a range of other bodies, including COSLA, Police Scotland, Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service and the Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner. Significant progress has been made, which is set out in the first annual report that is published today, and I am grateful to all partners who have contributed to the work. The strategy sets out a clear structure with actions falling under four broad headings—the identification of victims and supporting them to safety and recovery, identifying perpetrators and disrupting their activity, addressing the conditions that foster trafficking and exploitation, and supporting child trafficking victims. There is widespread interest in the issue of human trafficking, and guidance has been developed to offer accurate and consistent advice for both professional and public audiences. That covers what human trafficking is, its extent in Scotland, signs to look out for, the impact on victims, how to report concerns and how to access further information. Police Scotland and partners have created an e-learning training resource for public sector workers who may come into contact with victims. That has now been published on DVD and distributed through Scottish Government funding. In terms of public awareness, a standard presentation has been developed, drawing on material from migrant help, TARA, Police Scotland and the Scottish Government, and that will be available for use by community groups and anyone with an interest. Identifying potential victims is the first step, but it is vital that effective victim-central support is in place following that. I announced last year our intention to extend the minimum period of support from 45 days to 90 days. Following unanimous agreement in the Justice Committee, that came into force in April of this year. Alongside identical provisions for victims of slavery, servitude and forced or compulsory labour, that 90-day period is double the minimum support period in the rest of the UK. We have backed that up with substantial increases in funding for migrant help and TARA, who support adult trafficking victims in Scotland, as well as more funding for psychological trauma support through the anchor service. Child victims of trafficking are supported through child protection services, and the strategy includes a section covering the needs of child victims. In January, section 12 of the act was implemented, ensuring that where doubts exist as to whether a victim is under 18, it must be assumed that they are a child until age is established. That will ensure that individuals receive immediate age-appropriate support. To support social workers and others undertaking age assessment of potential child victims of trafficking, we published guidance in March following a process of consultation and development with partners. Alongside the work to improve support to victims, Police Scotland has led on improvements to the identification and disruption of trafficking. In March, the first conviction under the 2015 act was secured, with two individuals sentenced to 10 and seven years imprisonment respectively for offences related to slavery, servitude and forced or compulsory labour. The 2015 act provides for two new court orders—trafficking and exploitation prevention orders and trafficking and exploitation risk orders. Those orders came into force during 2017, and individuals convicted in that case were also made subject to prevention orders, reducing their ability to further exploit others. The national human trafficking unit within Police Scotland has co-ordinated intelligence-led operations throughout divisions over the past year, focusing on labour exploitation, sexual exploitation, child trafficking, domestic servitude, illegal border activity and Romanian and Vietnamese trafficking. Those operations uncovered a range of offences, including crime activity in respect of drugs, sexual exploitation and brothel keeping. Police Scotland and partners have undertaken joint days of action, executing wants, disrupting illegal activity and supporting victims to safety with the assistance of TARA. Police Scotland works closely with European law enforcement colleagues and has arrangements in place through Europol to share relevant information with law enforcement agencies right across Europe. That includes joint investigations, for example, with Romanian police focusing on individuals involved in trafficking women for sexual exploitation. Police Scotland has also benefited from the secondment of Romanian police officers to support human trafficking operations. It is not enough to disrupt trafficking when it occurs or support victims after the fact. The vision behind the strategy is to eliminate trafficking and exploitation. To do that, we need to address the root causes and build a society where trafficking cannot flourish. Businesses and our wider communities have an important role in that. From August to October 2017, we ran a national awareness raising campaign, featuring a short film screened during advert breaks on TV alongside digital adverts through smartphones and social media. Over this time, the modern slavery helpline recorded a significant increase in contact from Scotland from two potential victims per week to 10 per week. To assess the impact of the media campaign, a public survey was undertaken in March of this year and found that awareness of trafficking had increased. Of those surveyed, 87 per cent said that they would report trafficking suspicions to Police Scotland, a marked increase from 80 per cent last year. We are working with businesses in Scotland and have established a corporate group, which is looking into provision of guidance and training, raising awareness and sharing best practice, and improving the quality of slavery and human trafficking statements. I am happy to report that significant progress made in implementation of the strategy one year on from publication. That has been achieved through joint work between the Scottish Government, Closla, Police Scotland, support organisations, businesses and a wide range of other bodies. We will have a positive impact on victims and efforts to combat trafficking, both in Scotland and further afield. That is good progress, but there is much more to do. The report sets out key priorities for the next year, including developing communication channels to raise awareness and trust among victims, and further work to engage and support businesses in tackling trafficking. We will make progress on the outstanding acts provisions. On duty to notify, our trial implementation is under way with City of Edinburgh Council. We are looking to establish a further trial with other relevant bodies, and we are working to ensure that the digital platform that is currently being developed for the UK national referral mechanism will work with duty to notify in Scotland. On independent child trafficking guardians, we plan to consult in the autumn on proposed roles and responsibilities, and the existing Scottish guardianship service will continue to work until the new statutory arrangements are in place. A further progress report will be published one year from now, in line with the commitment that is set out in the strategy. Thank you, cabinet secretary. The cabinet secretary will now take questions on the issues raised in his statement. I intend to allow around 20 minutes for those questions, and then we will move on to the next item of business. May I ask members who wish to ask a question to press a request to speak buttons now? First, I will call Liam Kerr. I thank the cabinet secretary for advance sight of his statement. The cabinet secretary has started at the outset that human trafficking is a terrible crime and an appalling abuse of human rights. Those on those benches have no hesitation in agreeing to that and endorses choice of words. The problems that the legislation and the report seek to address are a scourge on society and therefore any attempt to forensically analyse and address human trafficking and rescue victims from it is hugely welcome. I welcome the progress that has been made but, as the cabinet secretary said, there is more to do. The cabinet secretary says that he will make progress on the outstanding provisions of the 2015 act, being the duty on public authorities to notify and the provision of independent child trafficking guardians. Those are crucial steps and they cannot afford any unwarranted delay. So, might I first of all push him to provide further detail on what his target date for commencement of these sections will be? Furthermore, the report makes several positive references to security and law enforcement co-operation across the UK, for example, the development of a joint digital platform for the national referral mechanism and duty to notify. Indeed, intelligence sharing is a key outcome of the strategy. Does the cabinet secretary agree that, in order to tackle the evil of human trafficking, it is vital that this cross-border co-operation continues seamlessly and that anything that could disrupt that collaboration must be avoided? Michael Matheson I am grateful for the members' comments. Let me try to address the issues that he has raised specifically. I mentioned in my statement the plans that we have for the duty to notify, where we have a pilot in place just now with the City of Edinburgh Council, which has been operating for several months. There are some issues around the amount of cases that have come from the existing pilot, and we are looking to extend a further pilot with another agency, potentially border force, in order to ensure that it operates effectively. The purpose for which we are taking this forward through pilots is to ensure that the system operates effectively and is being utilised properly. Alongside that, we want information that is gathered through the new digital platform that we are working with the Home Office on, which is associated with the national referral mechanism to ensure that we have one single dataset. The information that we gather through the duty to notify is also submitted into the system that gathers data from the national referral mechanisms. There has been some delays in the procurement of that particular digital platform, which has had an impact on taking some of that work forward. However, we are working close with the Home Office to ensure that that happens. Secondly, the issue of the independent guardians. I would like to have made further progress with that than we have at the present moment. We intend to have a consultation in autumn specifically to get clarity around roles and responsibilities, so that there are no areas of uncertainty between the role of local authority and the role of the independent guardian to ensure that we have clarity on that matter. Let me finish on the final point that the member raised. That is the issue of intelligence sharing. At the present moment, we have very effective intelligence sharing on those matters in tackling serious and organised crime and in tackling matters such as human trafficking. I agree with the member that we should ensure that no unnecessary barriers get in the way in the sharing of data and intelligence as and when that is appropriate. However, the member will be aware that one of the biggest risks that we face around intelligence sharing is Brexit. We are about to lose our full membership of Europol, which is one of the main hubs for the sharing of that information across all 28 states within the European Union at the present moment. Alongside that, we will potentially also lose access to the Schengen information to a system, which allows us to identify markers on individuals who may be moving around Europe who are individuals that the police would wish to apprehend. As I have set out in our report today on security and justice matters in Europe, there are real risks that we will lose access to that intelligence and its information. From the lack of engagement that we have had with the Home Office on that matter, it is simply unacceptable that we should potentially be creating such risks with such little progress that we have made on it. I agree with the member's comments on it and I will ask him to use his good officers within the Conservative Party to ensure that the Home Office and the UK Government engage with us properly on those issues to ensure that there are no gaps once we have left Europe. I thank the minister for prior sight of his statement, but most importantly I fully agree with him that human trafficking is an appalling abuse of human rights. Indeed, I welcome this report as an extremely useful update on progress that is being made on this vital issue. It also importantly sets out the work that still needs to be done. Strength of any strategy is the degree to which it can be measured against progress and identify areas for improvement. Can I ask the minister what he believes the most critical steps are in proving our capacity and capability for identification of those trafficked and those who seek to perpetrate those acts? I also note the sharp increase in those identified victims of human trafficking this year. Given the hidden nature of human trafficking, what does the minister believe that the overall scale of human trafficking is in Scotland and the sense of the proportion of those trafficked that are being identified currently? Michael Matheson I am grateful for the member's comments. I like him to think that the strategy and the annual report are an important element of making sure that we continue to look at the progress that we are making and also to identify the issues that we need to address moving forward. The benefits that I believe from the annual report and having a ministerial statement on it, which is through my choice, is to continue to challenge ourselves in that we are doing everything possible to tackle this appalling crime. A crime that many of us recognise is very often hidden and not fully appreciated and recognised. The member asked me to identify a couple of key areas where I think that there is a risk where we need to make further progress in identification of those who might be getting trafficked or maybe in slavery and servitude. One area where I think that more progress needs to be made is around the national referral mechanism. At the present moment, the timeline for cases being considered that the present time is too long, there are delays in the system and it needs to improve. That is a matter that I have already taken up with the Home Office in order to seek improvements to the system and will continue to press it to see what further progress can be made on that issue. However, it is an issue that I recognise is causing undue delay and undue anxiety and needs to be addressed. The other potential barrier here is a lack of awareness and a greater recognition of the risks of trafficking. I think that it is rather telling that the first two convictions under our new legislation in this area are to do with domestic servitude and individuals being held in slavery or forced labour. That demonstrates that it is taking place on our own doorstep and we need to recognise that. That is not something that is just about people coming into the country and being trafficked in, but it can also be taking place here at a domestic level. That greater public awareness and greater understanding across all agencies, public and private, is absolutely critical. As the member highlighted, we have saw an increase in reporting. A 38 per cent increase in the number of cases referred to the national ferromechanism in 2017. I suspect that that 38 per cent increase is still just the tip of the iceberg and there are still a significant amount of cases that are going unidentified, which is why we need to remain vigilant in this matter and we need to continue to challenge the approaches that we are taking to do everything that we can to identify individuals who may be getting trafficked and who may be in forced labour. The two opening questions were fairly detailed and the answers are fairly long. We have quite a few to get through, so may I ask those taking part to be succinct with both questions and answers. The trafficking of women and girls for sexual exploitation is increasingly now recognised as a global human rights crisis, but intelligence suggests that organised crime groups are involved in sexual exploitation to a greater degree than other forms of slavery. Can I ask the cabinet secretary if the progress report acknowledges that this is a problem and what more can the Government do to combat it? The member is correct in identifying that organised crime groups can often be involved in human trafficking for the purposes of sexual exploitation and in the annual reporting several sections of it. That is very clear. If the member looks even at area 3 within the actual annual report, page 33, there is a specific reference to aspects around the increased focus on commercial sexual exploitation and the multi-agency work that has been taken forward in this field. Very often, OCGs will not only be involved in human trafficking, but they will be involved in other forms of illegal activity. The member can be assured that this is an area that Police Scotland gives considerable attention to. Very often, sexual exploitation is a part of the work of those organisations. It will continue to be a key focus on the enforcement work that we take forward and the prevention work that has been taken forward. Margaret Mitchell, followed by Christina McKelvie. The cabinet secretary has already stated that the 63 trafficked children identified in Scotland this year is likely to be the tip of the iceberg. Building trust with those trafficked and sexually exploited young people is key in aiding disclosure. Will the cabinet secretary therefore meet the voluntary organisations and charities such as ADACTION, who have a proven record in Glasgow and South Lanarkshire of building that trust and identifying those young people whom statutory organisations have failed? Will the cabinet secretary confirm that? No, I think that that is enough, Ms Mitchell. Michael Matheson. As the member will be aware, the provision for the support of children who have been identified has been trafficked through child protection arrangements and through the Scottish guardianship provision. If the member wants to send me further information about particular organisations, I have no doubt that we will be more than happy to engage with them. However, the primary role for taking forward any services for young people who have been identified as being trafficked is through our child protection provisions, which is delivered by local authorities. Christina McKelvie, followed by Rhoda Grant. Thank you very much, Presiding Officer. The award-winning Scottish Guardianship Service provides support to refugee children who are alone or separated from their families. The cabinet secretary will know that the hostile environment from the Home Office makes it difficult for children without an independent advocate to navigate the complex system. Will the cabinet secretary give us an update on the eligibility criteria for trafficked children in Scotland and how they can access an independent advocate through the guardianship service? Michael Matheson. As I mentioned, the Scottish Guardianship Service will continue to be in place until the independent guardianship arrangements have been implemented part of the purpose of the consultation, which we are undertaking in the course of. The autumn will be allowed to be very clear about the role and the responsibilities of the independent guardian to address some of the issues that my colleague has just raised during the course of that. I have no doubt that the consultation next to that size, I have no doubt that the views of members from the cross-party group will be very interesting in feeding into that process, which I know that the member is a long-standing member of and has a long-standing interest in. We will want to feed into that process to ensure that the independent guardians address the very concerns and issues that the member has just highlighted. Rhoda Grant, followed by Emma Harper. Further to the question asked by Christine McKelvie, can I ask when the provision in the act to give unaccompanied children access to an independent guardian will actually be implemented because it has been two and a half years and we are still waiting for that section of the bill to be implemented. Michael Matheson. As I mentioned earlier on, I would like us to have made further progress on it. However, we have the Scottish guardianship programme, which is in place at the present moment, and that will continue. Once the consultation process has been completed this autumn, we will then be in a position when we can then have the roll-out of the independent guardian. I want that to happen sooner rather than later, but I want to make sure that we get the system right in working in partnership with local authorities before we start rolling it out. Although I cannot give you a specific date on the matter, I can assure the member that I want to see it rolled out sooner rather than later. Emma Harper, followed by Patrick Harvie. I welcome this important update from the cabinet secretary. Does he have concerns, or would he agree with me, that in order that the Scottish Government can successfully implement policies to significantly reduce human trafficking and give justice to the victims, this Parliament must have full control over immigration policy, which will allow victims a choice to remain here in Scotland and not face deportation as a result of the UK Government being fixated on a hard Brexit? Michael Matheson That is an issue that has been raised with me by some organisations that are working with individuals who have been identified as being trafficked and some of the challenges that they can face due to the overlap with the immigration system. That remains an issue of concern for me about how all the home officers deal with some of those cases around human trafficking matters. In my view, there continues to be a mismatch in how both those systems are operating. As it is known, I am in favour of immigration matters being the responsibility of this Parliament, but what we will do is continue to press the UK Government in the home office in particular to ensure that the way in which the immigration system operates is more sympathetic and understanding of those victims who have been trafficked and some of the challenges that I face. Patrick Harvie Followed by Liam McArthur Thank you. The cabinet secretary may be aware of the case of a constituent of mine, looking again, who was a victim of human trafficking and modern slavery and forced to work on a cannabis farm. As a result of that, he was arrested. He was imprisoned. He is the one, despite being a victim of this crime, who was faced with the threat of imminent deportation just this week. He was off the plane as a result of the pressure of thousands of his supporters, and we hope that he will be returned to Glasgow. What redress can the Scottish Government give to those who are criminalised in our justice system, as a result of their experience of being victim of human trafficking and forced labour, and will the Scottish Government lend its support in the case of look? Michael Matheson I am aware of the particular case and the issues that have been raised by the member on this issue. It comes to the issues of individuals who have been enforced into labour or servitude, or who have been trafficked. There is scope for compensation to be provided through the criminal injuries compensation authority. Alongside that, there is also the possibility of the courts to set down that compensation should be paid or provided to an individual as well. The member will recognise, though, that our scope to redress some aspects around asylum and immigration matters is very limited, given the responsibilities of those matters in life elsewhere. I assure the member that the approach that we take through the organisations that we support—for example, TARA and migrant help—are often engaged with individuals who will have been exploited or subject to trafficking. The range of scope that we allow them to provide to individuals is wider than the specific purpose for which we provide them funding for. We recognise that, very often, they need to go beyond the specific support that we give them funding for, and that is something that we support in a system with as and when we can in recognising some of the wider issues that need to be addressed when individuals experience the very types of difficulties that the member has just made reference to. I have four questions left if we are aware of the short time that we may get them all in. Liam McArthur, to be followed by Kate Forbes. I thank the cabinet secretary for early sight of his statement, welcome the report and also associate myself with his comments, but a collective importance to human trafficking. Cabinet secretary, we are aware that the Liberal Democrats fought for the introduction of independent child trafficking guardians and stronger identification and referral processes. Can he advise what the policy developments are that are stalling the implementation of the provision and which organisations he believes should be able to make a referral to appoint a guardian for a child? Michael Matheson. The principle piece of work that we need to take forward in relation to the implementation, as I mentioned to Rhoda Grant, is the consultation on the specific role and responsibilities that the independent guardian will have. A key part of that work is to agree that we are in partnership with COSLA, given the clear responsibility on child protection matters. Once we have completed that piece of work in the autumn, I am determined to make sure that we do everything that we can to have independent guardianship arrangements in place. I recognise the member's frustrations and other member's frustrations in the progress that has been made in this matter to date, but once we have completed that work and we can get assurance around how it will operate with local authorities and be in a position to have it finalised, that will include looking at who can make referrals to it and on what terms it can make those referrals. Kate Forbes, followed by Maurice Corry. Thank you. What is the Scottish Government's position on victims of trafficking being granted compensation? The minister will know that my constituency has seen one of the worst cases of labour exploitation. Michael Matheson The provisions in the Scottish criminal justice system for compensation on criminal matters are in relation to the criminal engineering compensation authority, which we provide funding for Scottish cases. That is a matter that someone can make an application to. The application must be on the basis of a person having been convicted or acquitted of an offence that relates to the legislation for which the strategy is underpinned by. Over and above that, there is scope for sentences or sheriffs and judges to direct compensation to be paid to victims. That would be a matter that is at the discretion of a judge or sheriff at the time of sentencing. Maurice Corry Deputy Presiding Officer, the work that has already been undertaken to raise awareness is welcome. Can the cabinet secretary tell the chamber what further types of action will be taken to improve awareness of the problem of human trafficking? Michael Matheson As I set out my statement, we are aware that we have already had a public information campaign. We have also provided a suite of materials in order to help to ensure that people and individuals have access to information around trafficking. That work will continue, and we will consider what further media campaigns are appropriate in public information campaigns. We would assist in hiding public awareness of those issues. The work that we are doing through the corporate group that we have established is to ensure that the private sector is playing their part, particularly around issues relating to forced labour. We are keen to expand that yet further, and that is one of the key measures that has been set out in the annual report as a work that we will take forward in the coming year. Thank you to Mr Corry. We have time for Ruth Maguire. Victims of human trafficking are particularly vulnerable to being sexually exploited. Can the cabinet secretary describe the action that the Scottish Government is taking to tackle commercial sexual exploitation? Michael Matheson The Scottish Government is opposed to all forms of violence against women in a key part of our equally safe strategy that is being taken forward by my colleague Angela Constance is to make sure that we are doing everything that we can to reduce the harm that is caused by sexual exploitation. A key part of the work that has been now been progressed in order to address those issues through a multi-agency working group to identify what further measures can be taken in order to reduce the risk and harm that is associated with sexual exploitation, and that work will begin to take forward in the coming months. That concludes questions on human trafficking first annual progress report. We will move on to the next item of business. I will give you a few moments to change seats appropriately.