Report (2nd Day)

Part of Policing and Crime Bill – in the House of Lords at 3:00 pm on 5 November 2009.

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Photo of Lord Brett Lord Brett Government Whip, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Home Office, Government Whip, Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office) (Identity) (also Lord in Waiting) 3:00, 5 November 2009

I will take note of that question, if I may, and hope to return to it courtesy of the Box before we end this debate.

Given that we have decided to maintain this offence, it is important that we seek to ensure that it can be used constructively and that it does not exacerbate the problems that it is intended to address. It is not our intention that this should be the sole means of ensuring that support is available to street prostitutes, but sometimes criminal justice action may be necessary. When it is, it is important that the court has the option of imposing a more constructive sentence than a fine, and Clause 17 ensures that it does.

Concerns have been raised about the ability of courts to impose an order without the consent of an offender, but there may be some cases where as a last resort a level of compulsion is justified. However, we recognise that the orders are far more likely to be successful when they are imposed with a person's consent and we will emphasise this in guidance.

The process of exiting prostitution may be long, and there may be relapses along the way. The orders are not intended to be the sole means of helping someone leave prostitution, but, in many cases, we hope they will be a start.

We recognise concerns that there are not sufficient safeguards on the police power of detention in Schedule 1. Our Amendment 29 will therefore impose an upper limit of 72 hours on the time that a person can be detained, in addition to the proviso that someone must be brought to court "as soon as practicable". It is clear from Amendment 27 that the concerns of the noble Baroness, Lady Miller, extend beyond the period of detention. I accept that she may wish to see a more broad-ranging agenda of reform, but preventing the order being introduced will not improve the situation. It would simply allow the continuance of the current circumstances in which courts, faced with someone who has been convicted of loitering and soliciting, have little alternative but to fine them.

Amendment 30 would remove Clause 18, presumably as a consequence of removing Clause 17. Clause 17 will reduce the rehabilitation period for those convicted of loitering or soliciting for the purposes of prostitution where they are sentenced under the new rehabilitative orders. It means that, in general, those sentenced to the new orders will be required to disclose their conviction only for the six-month period following it, at which point the conviction will become spent. Six months is the maximum duration of the order. As with all spent convictions, it will remain disclosable in certain limited situations; for example, in the assessment of suitability for some types of employment. Since we therefore wish to maintain Clause 17, we also seek to retain Clause 18, which is an important element of the rehabilitative process that the orders are intended to support.

Amendments 31 and 32 would remove Clauses 19 and 20, which will replace the two existing offences of kerb-crawling and soliciting found in the Sexual Offences Act 1985 and equivalent Northern Ireland legislation. This will allow the police to prosecute an offender on the first occasion on which they are found to be kerb-crawling or soliciting, without the need to prove either persistence or, in the case of kerb-crawling, that the behaviour is likely to cause annoyance to the person solicited or nuisance to others in the neighbourhood. A number of responses to Paying the Price identified kerb-crawling as a significant problem which contributes to the existence of street prostitution by fuelling the demand and is a source of nuisance for communities affected by street prostitution. Consequently, the co-ordinated prostitution strategy and the subsequent Tackling the Demand review made enforcement against kerb-crawling a key priority in fulfilling the wider objective of tackling the demand for prostitution. The amendments to the law which Clauses 19 and 20 will make ensure that this problematic behaviour can be tackled more easily by the police, thereby sending a significant deterrent message.

Concern has also been expressed that these clauses could endanger further those involved in street prostitution—a point made by the noble Baroness, Lady Miller—forcing them to take more risks in more isolated and dangerous locations, where their clients are less likely to be caught by the police if they engender violence or mistreatment. The Government take these concerns seriously. We are acutely aware of the dangers that those involved in street prostitution face every day and of our responsibility to them when legislating in this area. But tolerating kerb-crawling will not address those dangers. We firmly believe that the most effective way of making the lives of those involved in prostitution safer is to take steps to tackle demand while ensuring that support is available to them, with the long-term aim of reducing the levels of street prostitution. Over recent years, convictions for kerb-crawling have increased, while convictions of those found loitering or soliciting for the purposes of prostitution have decreased, reflecting a shift in emphasis which we intend to consolidate.

We do not accept that prostitution is inevitable. A vital part of reducing street prostitution is tackling demand and taking more action against kerb-crawlers. Amendment 33 would remove Clause 21, which introduces a new order allowing courts to close premises associated with certain prostitution or pornography-related offences for three months. The measures will be a vital tool in helping police disrupt criminal activity and protect victims of abuse. Currently, when the police raid premises linked with prostitution or child pornography offences, they may find the premises open again for business within hours or days of the raid. While they have the power to arrest those suspected of committing offences involving prostitution or child pornography, they are able to close the premises only if they are associated with persistent disorder or nuisance or use of class A drugs. The lack of an appropriate closure power means that exploitative activities may restart as soon as the police have left. Giving the police the power to serve a closure notice under Schedule 2 to the Bill is designed to prevent that.

I understand that the noble Baroness and other noble Lords are concerned that allowing police greater powers to target off-street prostitution would be detrimental to the safety of those providing sexual services in brothels. The police will not be able to use the powers introduced by Schedule 2 to close all brothels. Instead, closure notices and orders will target particularly exploitative activities and will be used in relation only to premises associated with certain specified sexual offences. Before a closure order is made, a court must be satisfied that it is necessary to prevent the premises being used for activities related to the offences listed in Sections 47 to 50, 52 and 53 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003. Those are the offences relating to child pornography, child prostitution and causing, inciting or controlling of prostitution for gain found in that Act. The orders can be used only where necessary to prevent activities related to these serious crimes occurring.

Our Amendments 34 and 35 reflect our desire to address concerns about these orders. They add to the conditions already in the Bill by requiring the courts to be satisfied that prior to the issue of a closure notice, which must precede an application for closure order, the police took reasonable steps to identify those with an interest in the premises and gave them a copy of the closure notice.

A closure notice must be served by a police officer before an application for closure order is made at court. One of the conditions that must be met before a police officer, who must be of at least the rank of superintendent or above, can authorise the issue of a closure notice is that he must be satisfied that reasonable steps have been taken to establish the identify of persons who reside on the premises or who have control of, responsibility for, or an interest in them. The amendment would therefore impose a condition on courts to ensure that the police had properly followed this procedure. We hope that noble Lords are assured that, with that extra requirement, we will provide a clear safeguard for those with an interest in the premises, ensuring that the police take steps to identify and inform them of the closure proceedings, which in turn will give those people a chance to attend court to raise any objections to the closure order before it is made.

We believe that a number of the concerns raised in Committee and in this debate have been dealt with. Given the importance of disrupting the criminal activity that can sometimes be associated with off-street prostitution, it is vital that these new powers are granted to disrupt the exploitation and serious criminal activity that exists, not throughout, but certainly in some areas of off-street prostitution. Clauses 16 to 21 are important provisions that should be retained to improve our approach to prostitution. I ask the noble Baroness not to press her amendments, and I commend Amendments 29, 34 and 35 to the House.

In closing, I respond to the question asked by the noble Lord, Lord Skelmersdale. The Home Office considered the merits of a legalised or regulated approach to prostitution, including legislation on brothels, in the Tackling the Demand review published in November 2008.

I should like to add a little something. From listening to noble Lords in Committee and at this stage, I understand that there is some concern that, as the noble Baroness said, while the Government's intentions may be right some of their methods may prove to be wrong in the event. That is particularly addressed to the question of rehabilitation orders and how we deal with prostitution and the prostitute in relation to the law. I offer the assurance that, as soon as is practicable and meaningful, probably within two years of the commencement of rehab orders, we will conduct an assessment of the nature and impact of the current service provision for the rehabilitation of prostitutes, identify and share good practice and consider the most effective way in which to deliver services to those involved in prostitution, including what works as an effective route out, while monitoring the usage of rehabilitation orders as a means of helping individuals out of prostitution.

I hope that, when we see how this works in practice, that will reassure those who fear that, although our destination may be desirable, the route that we are taking is not the most meaningful. We believe that it is, and I commend the Government's proposals.