:01:11. > :01:13.victims of sexual exploitation. The charity changing the lives of
:01:13. > :01:23.women trafficked for prostitution. Should the authorities be doing
:01:23. > :01:23.
:01:23. > :40:37.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 2353 seconds
:40:37. > :40:44.Rescuing the victims of sexual exploitation.
:40:44. > :40:47.The charity changing the lives of women trafficked for prostitution: I
:40:47. > :40:50.was repeatedly beaten and raped. And joining us this week, the
:40:50. > :40:56.Conservative MP for Chester, Stephen Mosley, and Yasmin Qureshi, the
:40:56. > :41:04.Labour MP for Bolton South East. It looks like unemployment is falling
:41:04. > :41:11.and the economy is improving. rates have gone down considerably.
:41:11. > :41:17.That is not a healthy sign. That is the main criticism. In terms of
:41:17. > :41:23.living standards, this is the greatest squeeze in living memory.
:41:23. > :41:28.It has been a difficult period of time. We are aware that things are
:41:28. > :41:33.proving to be difficult. But we are trying to make sure that things
:41:33. > :41:37.turned a corner. Unemployment is down by 25% in Chester. There is
:41:37. > :41:40.good news out there, but a lot needs to be done.
:41:40. > :41:44.I don't like to worry you, but a report out this week says that here
:41:44. > :41:47.in the North West, we are at greater risk of dying early than anywhere
:41:47. > :41:50.else in the country. The worst on that list of 150 local authorities
:41:50. > :41:54.is Manchester. But not far behind are Blackpool, Liverpool, Salford,
:41:54. > :41:57.Knowsley, Blackburn and Tameside. So can we just blame social
:41:57. > :42:01.deprivation? The report by Public Health England says we can't,
:42:01. > :42:03.because it has compared them with similar places elsewhere. So why
:42:04. > :42:11.after years of funding and public campaigning hasn't the story
:42:11. > :42:15.changed? Burgers, fizzy drinks, cigarettes,
:42:15. > :42:20.booze and a lack of exercise. Lifestyle choices reducing the
:42:20. > :42:25.lifespan of people living in the North West. The early death league
:42:25. > :42:28.table has already alarmed local authorities. Now responsible for
:42:28. > :42:30.public health in England who say it oversimplifies complex health
:42:31. > :42:33.problems The report shows people living in the worst performing area,
:42:33. > :42:42.Manchester, are more than twice as likely as people in Wokingham, in
:42:42. > :42:52.Berkshire, to die before the age of 75. This is about allowing a
:42:52. > :42:55.conversation to understand why some areas are doing better than others.
:42:55. > :43:04.Millions of pounds have been spent on healthy living campaigns like
:43:04. > :43:10.these, but public health experts say the message isn't getting through.
:43:10. > :43:15.For people living in more disadvantaged areas, they are
:43:15. > :43:19.trapped in poverty. They did not choose a crummy house or to send
:43:19. > :43:23.their children to a weak school, they did not have the choice. To
:43:23. > :43:28.pick on the victims and see it is their fault to be per and their
:43:28. > :43:38.fault to be weak and powerless, their fault to be unhealthy, is
:43:38. > :43:39.
:43:39. > :43:46.outrageous. The big health bus took its message to Manchester. We are
:43:46. > :43:52.bringing the message to people to give them the information they need
:43:52. > :43:54.give them the information they need to help make informed choices.
:43:54. > :43:57.Rotheram, where Jamie Oliver's school dinners crusade made national
:43:57. > :44:00.headlines, the report seems to show deprivation has not been a barrier
:44:00. > :44:06.to reducing premature deaths, but not everyone is convinced. Rather
:44:06. > :44:13.has its own protective factors. I would be sceptical that obesity
:44:13. > :44:16.intervention targeted at a few people will make such a difference.
:44:16. > :44:23.So, as local authorities get to grips with public health, will they
:44:23. > :44:28.be able to change our tastes? What is the point of this new table
:44:28. > :44:34.and this website? It is to allow local authorities to see what the
:44:34. > :44:38.situation is in their own areas. If there is a problem with smoking,
:44:38. > :44:42.obesity or drinking, it allows councils to see what the problem is
:44:42. > :44:50.and what action is required. Fundamentally, the problem is
:44:50. > :44:58.poverty. It's not really poverty. It's things like alcohol abuse,
:44:58. > :45:05.obesity and smoking. Local authorities that tackle that are
:45:05. > :45:09.having an effect on the mortality figures. The University professor is
:45:09. > :45:15.saying that fundamentally the real issue here is actually one of
:45:15. > :45:18.poverty and whether you have a job or a good education. Well, that is
:45:18. > :45:23.one of the reasons why were looking at the situations and seeing people
:45:23. > :45:30.are better off in work and that leads on to the welfare agenda that
:45:30. > :45:37.we have. We want to reform the welfare system to encourage people
:45:38. > :45:41.to get jobs and play an active and healthy role in society. Actually,
:45:41. > :45:44.if you do compare places in the north-west which are been
:45:44. > :45:49.particularly badly, for example Manchester, if you compare that to
:45:49. > :45:55.somewhere else which is also deprived, we are doing worse than
:45:55. > :46:01.anywhere else. What is the explanation for that? There can be a
:46:01. > :46:08.number of complications. But -- poverty has a lot to do with it. The
:46:08. > :46:13.education system might be better in some areas, for example in schools.
:46:13. > :46:21.More work is being done, extra work, to ensure people lead more
:46:21. > :46:26.healthy lifestyles. You are just reframing my question which is why
:46:26. > :46:36.are those better in equivalent places elsewhere than the
:46:36. > :46:43.
:46:43. > :46:49.north-west? In Bolton, you get �77 per person, in Westminster it is
:46:49. > :46:55.�130. There is a difference in the funding that councils are getting.
:46:55. > :47:04.They have to deal with the issue of educational people. National
:47:04. > :47:07.solutions don't work. That is why the government introduced this in
:47:07. > :47:14.April where local authorities are responsible for this. The government
:47:14. > :47:18.have rings -- ring fenced �5.5 million for public health. People
:47:18. > :47:25.will wonder why millions has been spent over the years and there has
:47:25. > :47:30.not been much progress. We're looking at a national situation. As
:47:31. > :47:34.we saw in the film, differences exist in local areas. Different
:47:34. > :47:39.places have different needs. National approaches don't work. By
:47:39. > :47:42.giving the money to local authorities so they can decide what
:47:42. > :47:46.happens in their local area, we can start to get rid of some of these
:47:46. > :47:50.discrepancies. I have no problem with local authorities being asked
:47:50. > :47:55.to look into this issue. The question is how fear that funding
:47:55. > :48:02.will be for each authority. Until now, public health issues have been
:48:02. > :48:12.part of the national agenda. I think it is right that local authorities
:48:12. > :48:18.
:48:18. > :48:24.are being given this. Went we have seen what is working, the allocation
:48:24. > :48:27.of money will change. Let's leave it there and move on.
:48:27. > :48:29.A shambles and a catastrophe. That was one recent verdict on the
:48:29. > :48:32.government's attempts to tackle people trafficking. Accurate figures
:48:33. > :48:35.are impossible to obtain. But you can be sure that many women will be
:48:35. > :48:39.living in the North West virtually prisoners and many trapped in the
:48:39. > :48:42.sex industry. Now one charity in the region is trying to rescue them. Our
:48:42. > :48:47.reporter has been invited to meet two of the women. Her report does
:48:47. > :48:50.contain descriptions of abuse. It is thought that thousands of
:48:50. > :48:56.people are smuggled into the UK every year, with many of them being
:48:56. > :49:01.forced to work in the sex industry. But girls from the UK are also being
:49:01. > :49:11.trafficked, exploited and abused. We have been speaking with two victims
:49:11. > :49:13.
:49:13. > :49:17.from the North West who are too frightened to be identified.
:49:17. > :49:19.didn't get fed, I got hit ,raped, I wasn't even allowed to have a
:49:19. > :49:23.shower. Natasha's story is harrowing. At the age of 14, she
:49:23. > :49:33.went on holiday to Mediterranean. And was befriended by a man who sold
:49:33. > :49:35.
:49:35. > :49:40.her into a life of sexual slavery. was once forced to sleep with over
:49:40. > :49:48.100 men in the space of 18 hours. I was in pain. They would tell me to
:49:48. > :49:51.do it without condoms. I was repeatedly beaten and raped. I was
:49:51. > :49:55.just a normal 14-year-old girl, I suppose. I liked shopping, hanging
:49:55. > :49:59.out with my friends. But one night that all changed. I met a woman at
:49:59. > :50:02.my local takeaway who I kind of knew. She invited me to a party. She
:50:02. > :50:06.seemed really nice, so I went along. When I got there, I felt
:50:06. > :50:10.uncomfortable. There was a group of men and she forced me to have sex
:50:10. > :50:12.with one. She said she had taken photos of me and would put them on
:50:12. > :50:19.Facebook so everyone would know. From there, the blackmail continued.
:50:19. > :50:23.In the end, I was being forced to have sex with up to four men a day.
:50:23. > :50:27.She would take me all over the place so men could force me to do things.
:50:27. > :50:37.I felt embarrassed, worthless. I had caught STDs and all sorts. I tried
:50:37. > :50:39.
:50:39. > :50:45.to kill myself a couple of times. is incredible to think that this is
:50:45. > :50:48.still going on in our time. Both women were eventually rescued by the
:50:48. > :50:51.charity SAFE which is based in the North West. It has been set up by
:50:51. > :50:54.three former police officers who work closely with the sex industry
:50:54. > :50:58.in order to rescue victims who are being exploited. We get information
:50:58. > :51:02.from people who really know about the types of threats out there.
:51:02. > :51:08.Close calls come from sections of the sex industry, from men that
:51:08. > :51:13.sleep with women and from women that work in the industry. We can get
:51:13. > :51:16.real information about people who are trafficked or are under age.
:51:16. > :51:19.Home Office believes that there are around 4,000 victims of sex
:51:19. > :51:24.trafficking in the UK. But many fear this is just the tip of the iceberg.
:51:24. > :51:27.I think the honest answer is that we don't have a very good handle on
:51:27. > :51:35.what is the size of the problem. Home Affairs Select Committee are
:51:35. > :51:38.calling for a coordinated approach in tackling the traffickers. This
:51:38. > :51:42.information needs to be held centrally across the four
:51:42. > :51:46.restrictions of the UK. Ahead Commissioner with overall
:51:46. > :51:49.responsibility is what many organisations want. That is a
:51:49. > :51:52.recommendation that I will put forward. The criminal underworld
:51:52. > :51:55.earns millions of pounds from trafficking and will not easily give
:51:55. > :52:05.up illegal earnings. The challenge for police forces is to find the
:52:05. > :52:05.
:52:05. > :52:11.traffickers and to persuade those abused to give evidence. Keeping the
:52:11. > :52:16.public safe is one of my top priorities. It is a serious priority
:52:16. > :52:22.for Merseyside Police. We have centralised public protection
:52:22. > :52:25.services, so there are specialist units working to protect children
:52:25. > :52:30.from sexual exploitation, working to prevent trafficking of vulnerable
:52:30. > :52:34.people. The cycle of abuse often makes victims feel isolated and
:52:34. > :52:37.alone and traffickers rely on this to keep them in the shadows. But
:52:37. > :52:45.both Jody and Natasha say with the help of SAFE they have been able to
:52:45. > :52:50.escape a life of exploitation. I started getting my self-confidence
:52:50. > :52:54.back. I go to college. Ever since the charity came into my life, I
:52:54. > :52:57.know what the word freedom is. And we are also joined by David
:52:57. > :53:03.Anthony, who used to be head of Special Operations at Greater
:53:03. > :53:10.Manchester Police. How much of our priority is trafficking for the
:53:10. > :53:14.police? Trafficking will be a major priority for the police, especially
:53:14. > :53:20.the exploitation of vulnerable younger royals who are subjected to
:53:20. > :53:23.the most horrendous abuse. Trying to find out who's behind that and to
:53:23. > :53:31.prevent them from getting involved in this type of life which is
:53:31. > :53:36.horrendous is a major priority for the police. The problem with recent
:53:36. > :53:40.grooming cases and abuse in the home is, what it is the extent of people
:53:40. > :53:47.being trafficked into the country and where are they being kept in
:53:47. > :53:52.safe houses to be abused in the way that they are? To what extent do you
:53:52. > :53:58.believe that the police are having success? This charity believes more
:53:58. > :54:06.can be done. I think that is a fair assumption that more can be done.
:54:06. > :54:11.This is linked to organised crime. Criminals are bringing people into
:54:11. > :54:20.this country and trafficking them within the country. They are
:54:20. > :54:25.subjected to the most appalling degradation and abuse. It is not
:54:25. > :54:31.just an issue for the police, but also for social services and law
:54:31. > :54:37.enforcement at Borders. Is this a very difficult trying to identify
:54:37. > :54:42.and solve? Or is it that the police have other priorities? It is
:54:42. > :54:46.difficult because the girls have been trafficked into the country, so
:54:46. > :54:54.how are they getting in through border agency checks without being
:54:54. > :54:58.alerted. A great deal can be done around the awareness. People must
:54:58. > :55:04.see young girls being brought into houses and a must see the amount of
:55:04. > :55:12.people coming to these houses to abuse these girls. What is the
:55:12. > :55:18.solution? We need a number of approaches. On behalf to be
:55:18. > :55:25.resourced probably on this. Also social services and schools need to
:55:25. > :55:29.be more vigilant. Children must be made to feel that they are confident
:55:29. > :55:33.young people and are able to approach teachers and adults.
:55:33. > :55:40.Parents have to be informed that this is a much bigger problem than
:55:40. > :55:50.we think it is because, I think, so far over the last few years people
:55:50. > :55:50.
:55:50. > :55:56.haven't really spoken about this. it a problem in Bolton? I have not
:55:56. > :56:00.come across a case of trafficking in Bolton, but I know there will be
:56:00. > :56:07.sexual abuse within the home taking place. Not because Bolton is
:56:07. > :56:12.susceptible, but because that happens across the country. We need
:56:12. > :56:21.to recognise the fact that there is a much bigger problem than we think
:56:21. > :56:28.it is. I remember 15 or 20 years ago, men were prosecuted for
:56:28. > :56:33.becoming pimps. They were forcing young ladies to become prostitutes.
:56:33. > :56:36.This is not something new. But finally people are willing to talk
:56:36. > :56:42.about it and come forward. Authorities must be given more
:56:42. > :56:46.resources to deal with this. There must be a joined up approach.
:56:46. > :56:56.Resources are scarce as you know. Why has the government is not got a
:56:56. > :56:59.
:56:59. > :57:04.grip on this? The government in 2011 launched its policy in this area.
:57:04. > :57:09.The first strand was identification and support for the girls.
:57:09. > :57:15.Secondly, it was working in foreign countries, mainly eastern Europe, to
:57:15. > :57:20.try to solve the problem at source. Also to work with the border
:57:20. > :57:25.controls. Lastly, a joined up approach with the police to bring
:57:25. > :57:31.everybody together so there is a big focus on this. Evidence given to the
:57:31. > :57:33.home affairs committee is contrary to that. It points out 17 ministers
:57:33. > :57:36.have different parts of responsibility and there is contrary
:57:36. > :57:38.to that. It points out 17 ministers have different parts of
:57:38. > :57:48.responsibility and there is no coordinator. There is a complete
:57:48. > :57:51.
:57:51. > :57:55.lack of figures. It am not saying it is a rosy picture. The last
:57:55. > :58:00.government did some work in 2003. The current government have
:58:00. > :58:06.continued that on. In 2011, the launched their strategy. We have all
:58:06. > :58:14.of the police focused on this abhorrent and brutal crime. Do you
:58:14. > :58:20.feel reassured? Not at the moment. Can I touch upon this issue? I
:58:20. > :58:29.remember when I was working in Kosovo 13 years ago helping to draft
:58:29. > :58:39.laws about safeguarding women. A lot of these women are told there will
:58:39. > :58:39.
:58:39. > :58:44.be a job. But then it turns out they will be pimped in a brothel. We need
:58:44. > :58:48.them to know they can go to the authorities without fear of the
:58:48. > :58:58.portion. A lot of talk your about the police needing priorities and
:58:58. > :59:02.resources. Resources are scarce, but police will deal with this because
:59:02. > :59:09.this is linked to serious and organised crime. Charities have
:59:09. > :59:13.given them intelligence which will be vital in combating this. But it
:59:13. > :59:16.is not just the police, it is a law enforcement problem.
:59:16. > :59:21.And if you are worried about anybody, then here is the number for
:59:21. > :59:26.SAFE. Give them a call on 0844 800 8563.
:59:26. > :59:30.Time for the rest of the week's news now in 60 seconds.
:59:30. > :59:35.Pay up, Peel. The chair of the Commons Public Accounts Committee
:59:35. > :59:42.called on the owner of Mediacity to stump up its fair share in tax. Peel
:59:42. > :59:45.says it has done nothing wrong. Priced out of the market. The number
:59:45. > :59:53.of people in their 30s in Cumbria has dropped by more than 10% in ten
:59:53. > :59:58.years. Campaigners say people can't afford to live there. We need to
:59:58. > :00:02.keep young people in rural areas to keep communities going economically
:00:02. > :00:05.and for them to remain viable. The families of two Merseyside men
:00:05. > :00:08.killed in the Algerian hostage crisis took their campaign for
:00:08. > :00:12.answers to Westminster. Paul Morgan and Garry Barlow were among those
:00:12. > :00:16.killed at a BP gas plant. The leader of the BNP and North West
:00:16. > :00:21.MEP Nick Griffin fought back after criticism of his visit to the Assad
:00:21. > :00:25.regime in Syria And hitting the buffers. Britain has enough
:00:25. > :00:27.problems. We should keep out of other peoples wars. Network Rail has
:00:27. > :00:33.rejected plans for a direct train service between Blackpool and
:00:33. > :00:36.London. Virgin Trains plan to appeal.
:00:36. > :00:44.That meeting of the Public Accounts Committee was three floors above
:00:44. > :00:52.this studio. Here is what Margaret Hodge had to say. The company on the
:00:52. > :00:56.whole, at maximum pays 10% corporation tax. Maximum. We do not
:00:56. > :01:01.create their fair share of corporation tax. When you are using
:01:01. > :01:07.taxpayers money, it ought to be both countries that pay their fair share
:01:07. > :01:16.back into the communal pot. Do you agree that the Peel group should pay
:01:16. > :01:21.more tax? I think our tax system is outdated. We now have global
:01:21. > :01:28.communications and global money flows. The system was set up in the
:01:28. > :01:31.1920s. David Cameron has the G8 summit in Northern Ireland and he
:01:31. > :01:37.has made this a priority. I think all companies should pay the tax
:01:37. > :01:42.that they all. The problem is when you have companies not paying
:01:42. > :01:48.enough, it is not their fault that they are taking advantage of the
:01:48. > :01:54.system. It is the fault of politicians for not having a system
:01:54. > :02:04.that ensures they are paying the right levels. Do you agree with
:02:04. > :02:06.
:02:06. > :02:16.that? Or is it creative accounting? Tax evasion is an lawful but tax
:02:16. > :02:17.
:02:17. > :02:22.avoidance is lawful. I agree that we need to relook at the whole issue
:02:22. > :02:31.about how taxes should be paid, especially corporation tax is with
:02:31. > :02:37.the global economy. Whatever is felt is the appropriate level of
:02:37. > :02:42.corporation tax, that should be paid. This company is driving
:02:42. > :02:49.forward the regional economy and redeveloping things. It is great
:02:49. > :02:53.they are doing that, but they are subject to laws. They will comply
:02:53. > :03:03.with the current laws. The issue, whether it is Google or Amazon or
:03:03. > :03:03.