Asked by: Baroness Doocey (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of COVID-19 on (1) the level of child trafficking in the UK, and (2) their efforts to combat such trafficking.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
This Government is committed to protecting those at risk from abuse and exploitation, including during the Covid-19 pandemic.
The Home Office publishes statistics on National Referral Mechanism (NRM) referrals on a quarterly basis, and reports up to Q3 2020 can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/national-referral-mechanism-statistics
NRM referrals for individuals who were potentially exploited as children for quarter 1 (January to March), quarter 2 (April to June) and quarter 3 of 2020 (July to September) were 1,237, 1,274 and 1,159 respectively. Quarter 4 statistics (October to December 2020) are being prepared and the release date will be confirmed here. national referral - Research and statistics - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
During the Covid-19 pandemic, NRM referral rates may have been affected by a number of factors. This includes reduced levels of travel from other countries to the UK, and lockdown measures in the UK meaning victims have been less likely to interact with First Responders.
The Home Office recognises victims are coming into contact with different services during the pandemic and we have worked to raise awareness of the indicators of modern slavery with the providers of these services to ensure victims continue to be identified and supported.
The Home Office continues to work with a range of partners to identify and deliver effective prevention activity. This includes successful awareness raising initiatives such as the Government’s ‘Hidden in Plain Sight’ campaign and the #SlaveryonYourDoorstep campaign led by CrimeStoppers. We also have a dedicated GOV.UK resources page that provides up-to-date information on how to spot the signs of modern slavery and report concerns.
Throughout the pandemic, we have worked closely with law enforcement partners to monitor risks and ensure that social distancing measures do not impede their ability to carry out work to prevent and tackle crime or prevent victims coming forward.
Asked by: Baroness Doocey (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government when they published their most recent strategy on the prevention of modern slavery.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
The UK is regarded as a world-leader for its response to modern slavery. The UK response is underpinned by the Modern Slavery Strategy 2014 and the Modern Slavery Act 2015, the first legislation of its kind. The Modern Slavery Strategy 2014 is structured around a ‘four Ps’ framework including a strategic pillar on prevent.
The Home Office continues to work with a range of partners to identify and deliver effective prevention activity. This included successful awareness raising initiatives such as the Government’s ‘Hidden in Plain Sight’ campaign, as well as training for frontline responders to better prevent and spot the signs of modern slavery. We also have a dedicated GOV.UK (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/modern-slavery-training-resource-page/modern-slavery-training-resource-page) resources page that provides up-to-date information on how to spot the signs of modern slavery and report concerns.
In addition, HMG is investing £10m to fund Modern Slavery Policy and Evidence Centre to bring together and commission innovative research to enhance the evidence base on modern slavery, including on strengthening prevention initiatives.
Asked by: Baroness Doocey (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they have taken to prevent re-trafficking of (1) known, or (2) suspected, victims of trafficking and modern slavery.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
The UK government is committed to tackling the heinous crime of modern slavery and is working in a number of ways, both in the UK and upstream, to prevent re-trafficking.
Support provided through the National Referral Mechanism for potential and confirmed victims of modern slavery identified in the UK aims to protect individuals from further harm and prevent possible re-trafficking.
In addition, the UK has strong relationships with a number of countries from where many victims originate and is working with them to provide a range of support for victims, including reintegration, as well as awareness raising and operational capacity building activity to prevent trafficking from occurring. For example, our ODA-funded Modern Slavery Fund provides a range of essential support including direct assistance via shelters and medical aid, to economic skills training and raised awareness of risks.
Asked by: Baroness Doocey (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, in cases where a child awaiting a National Referral Mechanism (NRM) decision has been reported missing and does not return within 48 hours, how long is the NRM case file held open for before it is suspended.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
When the Single Competent Authority becomes aware that an individual is missing, their National Referral Mechanism (NRM) case can be suspended unless there is already sufficient information available on which to make a decision. Suspended cases can be reopened at any time.
Sections 14.194 - 14.204 of the Modern Slavery: Statutory Guidance for England and Wales (under s49 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015) and Non-Statutory Guidance for Scotland and Northern Ireland Version 2.0 sets out the actions the SCA takes when suspending a case.
The Home Office publishes quarterly and annual statistics regarding the National Referral Mechanism (NRM) the latest published NRM statistics can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/national-referral-mechanism-statistics. However, the statistics do not currently contain data on the number of cases suspended prior to a Conclusive Grounds decision.
Asked by: Baroness Doocey (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many adult trafficking cases in the National Referral Mechanism have been suspended before a conclusive decision was made in the past three years.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
When the Single Competent Authority becomes aware that an individual is missing, their National Referral Mechanism (NRM) case can be suspended unless there is already sufficient information available on which to make a decision. Suspended cases can be reopened at any time.
Sections 14.194 - 14.204 of the Modern Slavery: Statutory Guidance for England and Wales (under s49 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015) and Non-Statutory Guidance for Scotland and Northern Ireland Version 2.0 sets out the actions the SCA takes when suspending a case.
The Home Office publishes quarterly and annual statistics regarding the National Referral Mechanism (NRM) the latest published NRM statistics can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/national-referral-mechanism-statistics. However, the statistics do not currently contain data on the number of cases suspended prior to a Conclusive Grounds decision.
Asked by: Baroness Doocey (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many child trafficking cases in the National Referral Mechanism have been suspended before a conclusive decision was made in the past three years.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
When the Single Competent Authority becomes aware that an individual is missing, their National Referral Mechanism (NRM) case can be suspended unless there is already sufficient information available on which to make a decision. Suspended cases can be reopened at any time.
Sections 14.194 - 14.204 of the Modern Slavery: Statutory Guidance for England and Wales (under s49 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015) and Non-Statutory Guidance for Scotland and Northern Ireland Version 2.0 sets out the actions the SCA takes when suspending a case.
The Home Office publishes quarterly and annual statistics regarding the National Referral Mechanism (NRM) the latest published NRM statistics can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/national-referral-mechanism-statistics. However, the statistics do not currently contain data on the number of cases suspended prior to a Conclusive Grounds decision.
Asked by: Baroness Doocey (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many unaccompanied Albanian children have been granted discretionary leave to remain in each of the last three years.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
The Home Office publishes data on asylum applications and grants of extensions in the ‘Immigration Statistics Quarterly Release’ (https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/immigration-statistics-quarterly-release).
Data on the number of asylum applications from unaccompanied asylum seeking children (UASC), and the initial decision on such applications are published in tables Asy_D01 and Asy_D02 of the asylum and resettlement detailed datasets (https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/asylum-and-resettlement-datasets), which include nationality breakdowns. Asy_D02 can be broken down to show grants of discretionary leave (DL) following an asylum application but does not show any grants of DL from non-asylum routes.
Data on the number of non-asylum related grants of discretionary leave granted in-country are published in tables Exe_D01 of the extensions detailed datasets (https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/managed-migration-datasets), which include nationality breakdowns. Exe_D01 can be broken down to show grants of DL but does not show the reason for the grant, or whether the grant was to an unaccompanied child
Information on how to use the datasets can be found in the ‘Notes’ page of the workbook. The latest data relate up to September 2020. Additionally, the Home Office publishes a high-level overview of the data in both the asylum and resettlement and extensions ‘summary tables’. The ‘contents’ sheet contains an overview of all available data on asylum and resettlement and extensions.
Information on future Home Office statistical release dates can be found in the ‘Research and statistics calendar’ (https://www.gov.uk/search/research-and-statistics?keywords=immigration&content_store_document_type=upcoming_statistics&organisations%5B%5D=home-office&order=relevance).
The data from the tables mentioned above are outlined below.
Table 1 – The number of asylum applications the UK has received from Albanian Unaccompanied Asylum Seeking Children (UASC) in the last three years and 2020 to date.
Year | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 (Jan to Sep) |
Albanian UASC Applications | 265 | 293 | 238 | 67 |
Source: Home Office, Immigration Statistics year ending September 2020 Asylum and Resettlement Table Asy_D01
Table 2 – The number of Albanian UASC granted discretionary leave (DL) at initial decision following an application for asylum in the last three years and 2020 to date.
Year | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 (Jan to Sep) |
Albanian UASC granted DL | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
Source: Home Office, Immigration Statistics year ending September 2020 Asylum and Resettlement Table Asy_D02
Table 3 – The number of Albanians granted non-asylum related discretionary leave (DL) in the last three years and 2020 to date.
Year | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 (Jan to Sep) |
Albanians granted DL | 55 | 56 | 18 | 12 |
Source: Home Office, Immigration Statistics year ending September 2020 Extensions Table Exe_D01
Notes:
The data on Discretionary Leave (DL) in the extensions dataset include all grants of discretionary leave to remain to non-EEA nationals except those granted DL following an asylum claim.
Asked by: Baroness Doocey (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many unaccompanied Albanian children have claimed asylum in the UK in each of the last three years.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
Table 1 – The number of asylum applications the UK has received from Albanian Unaccompanied Asylum Seeking Children (UASC) in the last three years and 2020 to date.
Year | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 (Jan to Sep) |
Albanian UASC Applications | 265 | 293 | 238 | 67 |
Note:
Data for UASC provide a count of asylum applications received from main applicants who are treated as an unaccompanied child for at least one day from the date of application, up until the initial decision (where applicable), even if they are later persons found to be an adult following an age dispute. As a result, some UASC cases relate to over 18.
The Home Office publishes data on asylum applications in the ‘Immigration Statistics Quarterly Release’ (https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/immigration-statistics-quarterly-release). Data on the number of asylum applications from unaccompanied asylum seeking children (UASC), and the initial decision on such applications are published in tables Asy_D01 and Asy_D02 of the asylum and resettlement detailed datasets (https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/asylum-and-resettlement-datasets), which include nationality breakdowns. Information on how to use the dataset can be found in the ‘Notes’ page of the workbook. The latest data relate up to September 2020. Additionally, the Home Office publishes a high-level overview of the data in the ‘summary tables’ (see attached). The ‘contents’ sheet contains an overview of all available data on asylum and resettlement.
Information on future Home Office statistical release dates can be found in the ‘Research and statistics calendar’ (https://www.gov.uk/search/research-and-statistics?keywords=immigration&content_store_document_type=upcoming_statistics&organisations%5B%5D=home-office&order=relevance).
Asked by: Baroness Doocey (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether there is a specific team within the Single Competent Authority established under the Modern Slavery Act 2015 responsible for making trafficking decisions in relation to children.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
The creation of the Single Competent Authority (SCA) was announced in Autumn 2017 as part of the National Referral Mechanism (NRM) Reform Programme. The SCA was launched in April 2019, replacing the previous competent authorities for the NRM.
Decision makers within the SCA are fully trained to make both Reasonable Grounds decisions and Conclusive Grounds decisions on children who may be potential victims of modern slavery and human trafficking.
The figures below include all staff involved in the Single Competent Authority’s decision-making work (including all decision points such as Reasonable Grounds, Conclusive Grounds, Reconsiderations, Modern Slavery Discretionary Leave, and Recovery Needs Assessments) and includes all functions across the unit necessary for that activity (including management, case preparation, technical specialists, business support etc). The numbers provided are taken as of 30 November from a live operational database and may change as information on the system is updated.
Home Office Staff: 225 (181 full time and 44 part time)
Agency Staff: 3 (all full time)
Between now and March 2021, over 350 new staff will join the Home Office to work in the SCA. The vast majority of these staff will be decision-makers, with the remainder of the posts going to case preparation, workflow management, technical specialist and management roles essential for the operation of the Unit.
Recruiting in these numbers will give us the capacity to make significantly more Conclusive Grounds decisions than we are currently able to do with existing resource, and therefore will bring down decision-making timescales for victims.
The current Head of the SCA took up post on 4 April 2019.
Asked by: Baroness Doocey (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many Home Office (1) staff, and (2) agency staff, are employed (a) full time, and (b) part time, to make decisions on trafficking and modern slavery within the Single Competent Authority established under the Modern Slavery Act 2015.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
The creation of the Single Competent Authority (SCA) was announced in Autumn 2017 as part of the National Referral Mechanism (NRM) Reform Programme. The SCA was launched in April 2019, replacing the previous competent authorities for the NRM.
Decision makers within the SCA are fully trained to make both Reasonable Grounds decisions and Conclusive Grounds decisions on children who may be potential victims of modern slavery and human trafficking.
The figures below include all staff involved in the Single Competent Authority’s decision-making work (including all decision points such as Reasonable Grounds, Conclusive Grounds, Reconsiderations, Modern Slavery Discretionary Leave, and Recovery Needs Assessments) and includes all functions across the unit necessary for that activity (including management, case preparation, technical specialists, business support etc). The numbers provided are taken as of 30 November from a live operational database and may change as information on the system is updated.
Home Office Staff: 225 (181 full time and 44 part time)
Agency Staff: 3 (all full time)
Between now and March 2021, over 350 new staff will join the Home Office to work in the SCA. The vast majority of these staff will be decision-makers, with the remainder of the posts going to case preparation, workflow management, technical specialist and management roles essential for the operation of the Unit.
Recruiting in these numbers will give us the capacity to make significantly more Conclusive Grounds decisions than we are currently able to do with existing resource, and therefore will bring down decision-making timescales for victims.
The current Head of the SCA took up post on 4 April 2019.