Ministers ‘regretfully’ refuse to back Regan’s Bill to criminalise buying sex

The Scottish Government “regretfully” cannot back legislation that aims to impose fines of up to £10,000 and even jail sentences on those caught buying sex from sex workers, the community safety minister has said.

Former Alba MSP Ash Regan brought forward a Bill at Holyrood that aims to criminalise the purchase of sex, while decriminalising those selling it.

While community safety minister Siobhian Brown said the government agrees with the principle that “men should not be able to purchase sex” and “women are not for sale”, she added there was now insufficient time ahead of May’s Holyrood elections to make changes to the Bill ministers believe are needed.

Instead, she said officials would start work “immediately” with a commission to be set up “so that options for legislation are available as soon as possible following the formation of the next government”.

The minister also promised that support for women seeking to leave prostitution would be increased by £65,000 on top of the £400,000 already promised in the draft budget.

However, Regan, a former Scottish Government minister who now sits as an independent MSP, blasted: “On a day when the world is recoiling at the Epstein scandal, the government has chosen to side with the abusers against the victims.”

The Prostitution (Offences and Support) (Scotland) Bill, if passed, would repeal the existing offence under section 46 of the Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982 of loitering, soliciting or importuning in a public place for the purposes of prostitution, which has been used to prosecute those selling sexual services as part of street prostitution.

It also proposes that those who have been convicted of this offence in the past have their convictions quashed, and would also bring in a requirement to provide support for those involved in the sex trade and those who have left it.

Brown said she commended the former SNP and Alba MSP for bringing forward a Bill “on this vital issue”.

The community safety minister added: “The Scottish Government agrees with the principle in the Bill that prostitution is violence against women and girls and that men should not be able to purchase sex, simply: women are not for sale.”

However, concerns have been raised that the legislation could push those involved in prostitution underground – potentially putting them in more danger.

The minister said the government is “very aware that there are women in prostitution who have said the Bill as drafted will lead to them being at a higher risk of violence”.

Brown continued: “With only weeks left in this parliamentary term, we do not think there is sufficient time left to amend the Bill to properly mitigate that risk as well as make other very necessary changes and consult on their impact.”

She added that as a result, “we are regretfully unable to support the Bill” when it comes before Holyrood for a key vote on Tuesday.

The Scottish Government “strongly” supports a recommendation from the Holyrood committee which scrutinised the Bill that an independent commission should be set up “to consider how best to legislate to reduce the prevalence of prostitution in a manner consistent with protecting the safety of women and girls”, Ms Brown said.

And she said: “I have instructed officials to begin work immediately on the establishment of a commission so that options for legislation are available as soon as possible following the formation of the next government.”

The minister said: “This Bill has brought this important issue to the top of the political agenda. It is clear action is needed, and we agree with the committee that this should be done in the next Parliament when full consideration of all issues can be carried out.”

However, former sex worker Diane Martin, who now chairs the group A Model For Scotland, which campaigns for a “progressive legal model that combats commercial sexual exploitation in Scotland”, said MSPs should back Regan’s Bill.

Ms Martin, who was trafficked into prostitution as a teenager and has since spent more than 30 years supporting other victims and campaigning for legal reform, insisted: “This is a moment for MSPs to choose justice over inaction, to stand with the overwhelming majority of vulnerable women who are coerced, controlled, commodified and trapped within Scotland’s organised crime-driven market.

“Outlawing paying for sex, while supporting rather than sanctioning victims, is the only legal framework that has been demonstrated internationally to reduce demand while supporting victims to exit and access support.

“There has been a marked cultural shift in societal attitudes in countries where this legislation has been implemented, and support for it has increased year on year.”