According to an evaluation report on the trials of specialist child trafficking advocates in England the advocate service “appears to be important in ensuring clarity, coherence, and continuity for the child” and that “advocates added value to existing provision, to the satisfaction of the children and most stakeholders.”

Disappointingly, despite these positive findings the Government has chosen not to bring into force the section of the Modern Slavery Act which would extend the advocate scheme to all trafficked children in England and Wales at this time. Instead, in a paper also published today, the Government has set out its intention to consider further trials of revisions to the scheme following consultation with expert groups in the Spring.

Unfortunately this decision means that unlike trafficked children in Scotland and Northern Ireland [1], many trafficked children in parts of England and Wales will still not receive dedicated and specialist support which has been so valuable for the children included in the trial. As one child said:

“I can call my social worker and then she tells me OK but I’m busy or something. But if I call [the advocate] then she can make things happen.”

CARE urges the Government to use this further consultation period to respond to concerns about the practical implementation of the scheme identified in the evaluation report – including the need for speedy referral by local authorities (69% of cases in the trial took 3 days or longer to be referred to the advocate scheme), clarity for other professionals about the advocates’ responsibilities and ensuring advocates have legal powers and authority to engage with others involved with a child’s case.

Indeed, many of these problems would be directly addressed by provisions relating to Child Trafficking Advocates in the Modern Slavery Act, which the Government has this week put off implementing. We therefore encourage the Government to set a clear timetable for bringing these clauses into effect as soon as possible.

Note:

[1] Scotland already provides specialist support (called “guardians”) for unaccompanied migrant children including trafficked children. This provision was given status in law in the new Human Trafficking and Exploitation (Scotland) Act 2015 passed this Autumn.

Under the Human Trafficking and Exploitation (Criminal Justice and Support for Victims) Act (Northern Ireland) 2015 passed in January, independent guardians will be provided for trafficked and unaccompanied migrant children in Northern Ireland. This scheme is expected to be in place by Spring 2016.