Human Trafficking and Exploitation (Scotland) Act 2015 section 38: consultation

Section 38(5) of the Act

A notification under subsection (4) relating to an adult must not include information that (a)identifies the adult, or (b)enables the adult to be identified (either by itself or in combination with other information), unless the adult consents to the inclusion of that information.

The Scottish Government is of the view, subject to this consultation exercise, that the anonymised information listed below should be contained in a notification from Police Scotland to others if an adult does not consent to providing information that may identify them.

The Scottish Government is of the view that additional information that may identify the victim should not be contained in a notification from Police Scotland to another body.

Question 10:

Do you agree that the anonymised information below should be included in a notification from Police Scotland to a third party if the adult does not consent to provide information that may identify them?

Question 11:

Is there any other information that you think should be included in a notification under section 38(5) of the Act? Yes/No

Question 12:

How frequently do you think the Police should pass information to a third party? Please select only one option or state one other time period.

Do you have any other comments about the frequency?

Other Relevant Bodies

The Scottish Government is of the view, subject to this consultation exercise, that it would like to work with the following bodies, who cannot be named in Regulations, because they do not fall within the definition of ‘Scottish public authority’, and encourage them to voluntarily notify the Police about a person who is, or appears to be, a victim of human trafficking or of slavery, servitude and forced or compulsory labour.

The Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority, British Transport Police and Border Force all have very distinct roles and may come into contact with victims of human trafficking and exploitation at various stages of a victims journey. For example on entry into Scotland via air, rail, road or sea and once in Scotland using transport hubs to travel to different locations and then possible work in the agriculture, shellfish, processing and packaging industries.

In Scotland the Trafficking Awareness Raising Alliance (TARA) and Migrant Help support adult victims of human trafficking and of slavery, servitude and forced or compulsory labour. As these bodies cannot be named in Regulations terms and conditions will be inserted into any future Grants offered so that they will comply with the duty in the same way as any other statutory body.

Question 13:

Do you agree that the Scottish Government should work with these bodies to establish a system whereby information can be shared with the police in a similar way to the statutory duty under section 38 of the Act?

Question 14:

Do you think that there are any other bodies that operate in Scotland that the Scottish Government should encourage to notify the police about a person who is or appears to be a victim of a section 1 or section 4 offence? Yes/No