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6. Support services
UK Human Trafficking Centre ( UKHTC)
The UKHTC24 was established in October 2006, following a proposal from ACPO. It is made up of staff from various disciplines bringing a multi-agency approach to the Centre's response to trafficking both into and within the UK.
It aims to improve and co-ordinate the law enforcement response to human trafficking, working closely with its partners in delivering a diverse set of programmes. A number of these will be targeted campaigns on preventing and reducing human trafficking and improving knowledge and understanding of the problem through best practice and training. A key element in the Centre's approach to preventing and reducing human trafficking is to ensure that victims are adequately safeguarded and protected from harm.
Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre ( CEOP)
The Government established CEOP25 in April 2006 to protect children from sexual exploitation originating from the internet. CEOP is a UK wide agency which adopts a child-centred approach to all areas of its business and has a dedicated child trafficking unit. CEOP works closely with the Serious Organised Crime Agency ( SOCA), the Scottish Crime and Drug Enforcement Agency ( SCDEA), Association of Chief Police Officers ( ACPO), Association of Chief Police Officers of Scotland ( ACPO(S)), the UKHTC and relevant statutory and non-statutory stakeholders on all issues relating to child trafficking across the UK.
CEOP will assess annually the nature and scale of child trafficking. This information will inform the development of policing policy, good practice and training requirements. The involvement of a UKBA staff member seconded to CEOP will ensure that immigration issues relating to trafficked victims will be appropriately responded to by CEOP.
Part of the work of the child trafficking unit within CEOP will be to draw on examples of best practice to develop guidance for law enforcement around the identification of victims of child trafficking. Once developed this guidance will be available on the CEOP website.
NSPCC Child Trafficking Advice and Information Line (0800 107 7057)
The Home Office, in partnership with NSPCC, ECPATUK, CEOP and Comic Relief, launched the NSPCC Child Trafficking Advice and Information Line for staff on 8 October 2007. This was in response to an extensive consultation exercise which highlighted issues when identifying children and young people who may have been trafficked and the challenge to deliver an appropriate welfare approach. It offers direct assistance to professionals in statutory and non-statutory services responsible for children who show signs of having been trafficked and will offer advice on how their needs can be addressed. It also offers guidance by telephone and a case consultancy service by appointment.
The advice line is available UK wide and the service is currently identifying partners across the nations to ensure the most effective and best practice response is delivered.
The advice line will be a conduit for professionals to discuss issues and possible actions about any children who may have been trafficked or who still are being trafficked. The line supports referrals to other agencies and charities where a particular issue could be resolved by them. The service will work closely with a range of other agencies and experts on child trafficking through an advisory group in order to ensure that advice given is up to date, relevant and useful. Trafficked children will be involved in the design and delivery of this and other connected services. Over time the service will build a knowledge base which will inform service delivery development and permit the sharing of good practice and intelligence with CEOP and the UKHTC.
National Register of Unaccompanied Children
The National Register of Unaccompanied Children 26 ( NRUC) extends to Scotland (Telephone 02079349653). This contains information on all unaccompanied asylum seeking children supported by local authorities and to which approved staff have access. The NRUC also records children whose parents have left them ("separated children") or where the child has gone missing. It should also be noted that not all Scottish local authorities who have UASCs have been part of NRUC.
Local authority asylum teams
Local authorities provide care and support for unaccompanied children arriving in Scotland. There is however no independent support and advice service currently available for these children in Scotland (ie the appointment of an independent guardian as recommended by the UN). The Scottish Government is therefore working with key stakeholders to explore a Scottish model of guardianship support for separated children with a view to setting up a pilot.
Most recent estimates (2006) suggest there are around 170-180 unaccompanied young people in Scotland who have sought asylum. Most are in Glasgow. The Glasgow Asylum Seeker Support Project provides them with help, support and advice.
The UKBA has consulted recently on proposals to utilise and support the expertise and resources of "specialist authorities" on a national basis. Some Scottish local authorities have been involved in discussions about becoming specialist authorities.
Community groups, including faith groups, and the voluntary sector
Community groups, faith groups and voluntary organisations play an important role in identifying children who may have been trafficked. Through their reach into local communities, and their extensive knowledge and experience in working in different ways with the most vulnerable children and young people, these organisations may well be best placed to reach children who may have been trafficked. It is important that good working relationships are developed between these organisations and the statutory agencies working to safeguard and promote the welfare of children and young people.
These bodies can be trusted organisations in minority communities that may not have a high degree of trust in state sector organisations. They have access to faith and community leaders in hard to reach communities, locally and nationally. This means they have an important role to play in conveying strong messages about the need to protect children within their communities. They may help mediate and build confidence where an individual feels that a child is in trouble or may have been trafficked but does not know what to do for the best.
Building the confidence of local faith leaders to believe that the right thing will be done by the local authority, and making use of their moral leadership role, may build the confidence of the wider minority community. With established organisational and communication networks these groups can play an important role in raising public awareness of the issues around child trafficking.
Voluntary and community organisations often play a key role in safeguarding children. They need to work effectively with statutory agencies and should make their paid and voluntary staff aware of their responsibilities for safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, and how they should respond to child protection concerns.
Community groups, faith groups and voluntary organisations may be the first to come into contact with a trafficked child. Protecting them and promoting their welfare depends on the awareness and co-operation of community groups, neighbours and the public. Where such concerns exist, these should be brought to the attention of the local authority or the police. Contact details for voluntary sector organisations that have specific experience of child trafficking can be found in Appendix 4.
Translation Services
Access to suitably skilled and supported translation services is crucial in many circumstances. In 2004, the Scottish Executive endorsed good practice guidance produced by the Scottish Translation, Interpreting and Communication Forum- see link below
http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Resource/Doc/47210/0025542.pdf As part of compliance with the statutory duty to promote race equality, key public bodies must ensure access to the information and the services each public body provides but this should not be taken to mean that all information is necessarily translated into a wide range of languages. A summary of the document could be translated if appropriate and alternatives such as the use of an interpreter, to provide information to a group of people, should also be considered. Public bodies meet the cost of providing translations and interpreting services from within their own budgets.
In 2006, the Scottish Government published a summary of research work entitled Translation, Interpreting and Communication Support: A Review of Provision in Public Services in Scotland. It examined the provision of Translation, Interpreting and Communication Support ( TICS) within public services in Scotland as viewed by TICS providers and by public sector bodies in Scotland. Following this, the Translation, Interpreting and Communication Support ( TICSIG) was brought together to examine these recommendations in the report and identify priorities for action and it is in the final stages of developing a national statement/action plan.
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