Moved by
Lord McColl of Dulwich)
42: After Clause 9, insert the following new Clause—
“Child trafficking guardians for children who may have been victims of human trafficking
(1) The Children Act 1989 is amended as follows.
(2) After section 26A insert—
“26B Child trafficking guardians for children who may have been victims of human trafficking
(1) A child trafficking guardian shall be appointed to represent the best interests of each child who might be a victim of trafficking in human beings if the person who has parental responsibility for the child fulfils any of the conditions set out in subsection (3).
(2) The child trafficking guardian shall have the following responsibilities to—
(a) advocate that all decisions taken are in the child’s best interest;
(b) advocate for the child to receive appropriate care, accommodation, medical treatment, including psychological assistance, education, translation and interpretation services;
(c) advocate for the child’s access to legal and other representation where necessary;
(d) consult with, advise and keep the child victim informed of legal rights;
(e) where appropriate instruct the solicitor representing the child on all matters relevant to the interests of the child arising in the course of proceedings including possibilities for appeal;
(f) contribute to identification of a plan to safeguard and promote the long-term welfare of the child based on an individual assessment of that child’s best interests;
(g) keep the child informed of all relevant immigration, criminal or compensation proceedings;
(h) provide a link between the child and various organisations who may provide services to the child;
(i) assist in establishing contact with the child’s family, where the child so wishes and it is in the child’s best interests;
(j) liaise with the UK Border Agency where appropriate;
(k) attend all police interviews with the child; and
(l) accompany the child whenever the child moves to new accommodation.
(3) Subsection (1) shall apply if the person who has parental responsibility for the child—
(a) is suspected of taking part in the trafficking of human beings;
(b) has another conflict of interest with the child;
(c) is not in contact with the child;
(d) is in a country outside the United Kingdom; or
(e) is a local authority.
(4) In subsection (1), a child trafficking guardian may be—
(a) an employee of a statutory body;
(b) an employee of a recognised charitable organisation; or
(c) a volunteer for a recognised charitable organisation.
(5) Where a child trafficking guardian is appointed under subsection (1), the authority of the child trafficking guardian in relation to the child shall be recognised by any relevant body.
(6) In subsection (5), a “relevant body” means a person or organisation—
(a) which provides services to the child; or
(b) to which the child needs access in relation to being a victim.
(7) The appropriate national authority—
(a) shall by order set out the arrangements for the appointment of a child trafficking guardian as soon as possible after a child is identified as a potential victim of trafficking in human beings;
(b) may make rules about the training courses to be completed before a person may discharge duties as a child trafficking guardian;
(c) shall by order set out the arrangements for the provision of support services for persons discharging duties as a child trafficking guardian; and
(d) shall by order designate organisations as a “recognised charitable organisation” for the purposes of this section.
(8) In this section a child is considered to be a “potential victim of trafficking in human beings” when—
(a) there has been a conclusive determination that the individual is a victim of trafficking in human beings, or
(b) there are reasonable grounds to believe that the individual is such a victim and there has not been a conclusive determination that the individual is not such a victim.
(9) For the purposes of subsection (8)(b) there are reasonable grounds to believe that an individual is a victim of trafficking in human beings if a competent authority has determined for the purposes of Article 10 of the Trafficking Convention (identification of victims) that there are such grounds.
(10) For the purposes of subsection (8) there is a conclusive determination that an individual is or is not a victim of trafficking in human beings when, on completion of the identification process required by Article 10 of the Trafficking Convention, a competent authority concludes that the individual is or is not such a victim.
(11) In this section—
“parental responsibility” has the same meaning as section 3 of this Act;
“competent authority” means a person who is a competent authority of the United Kingdom for the purposes of the Trafficking Convention;
“the Trafficking Convention” means the Council of Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings (done at Warsaw on 16 May 2005);
“trafficking in human beings” has the same meaning as in the Trafficking Convention.””