Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many people who have no right to work are currently identified and referred within the National Referral Mechanism for modern slavery; and what is the average total annual cost of providing benefits for those who are in the National Referral Mechanism.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The requested data is not available form published statistics, and could only be collated for the purposes of answering this question at disproportionate cost.
The Home Office funds the Modern Slavery Victim Care Contract (MSVCC), which is contracted to spend £379 million over 5 years to provide specialist and statutorily mandated support to adult victims of exploitation and trafficking, in England and Wales. The MSVCC provides safe accommodation where necessary, financial support, and access to a support worker.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether changes to immigration rules, particularly the proposed extension from a five-year to a ten-year settlement route, will apply retrospectively to British National (Overseas) (BNO) visa holders; whether the new English language requirement for indefinite leave to remain will apply BNO visa holders already in the UK; and whether changes to immigration rules will be backdated to 2020.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government is committed to supporting members of the Hong Kong community who have relocated to the UK and those who may come here in the future. We will consult new earned settlement and citizenship rules announced in the Immigration White Paper, including on the potential impacts on those on the BN(O) route.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what representations they have received about the impact of the amendments to immigration rules, particularly those associated with the new contribution-based settlement model, to British National (Overseas) visa holders currently residing and working in the United Kingdom.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government is committed to supporting members of the Hong Kong community who have relocated to the UK and those who may come here in the future. We will consult new earned settlement and citizenship rules announced in the Immigration White Paper, including on the potential impacts on those on the BN(O) route.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to address the finding in the report Safety and Survival by Women for Refugee Women that women banned from working are being forced into abusive and exploitative situations and relationships.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office keeps all aspects of the immigration and asylum system under regular review, and recently published a White Paper setting out the Government’s plans for reform in relation to the exploitation and abuse of migrant workers, and a wide range of other areas.
The Government provides support to migrant victims of VAWG through the Migrant Victims Domestic Abuse Concession (MVDAC) and works with sector leads on this group to ensure they are part of the broader strategy on VAWG.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the compatibility of policies banning women seeking asylum from working and their objective of preventing violence against women and girls.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office keeps all aspects of the immigration and asylum system under regular review, and recently published a White Paper setting out the Government’s plans for reform in relation to the exploitation and abuse of migrant workers, and a wide range of other areas.
The Government provides support to migrant victims of VAWG through the Migrant Victims Domestic Abuse Concession (MVDAC) and works with sector leads on this group to ensure they are part of the broader strategy on VAWG.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how the impact of the work ban for people seeking asylum upon levels of violence against women and girls is being monitored.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office keeps all aspects of the immigration and asylum system under regular review, and recently published a White Paper setting out the Government’s plans for reform in relation to the exploitation and abuse of migrant workers, and a wide range of other areas.
The Government provides support to migrant victims of VAWG through the Migrant Victims Domestic Abuse Concession (MVDAC) and works with sector leads on this group to ensure they are part of the broader strategy on VAWG.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the reasons for the finding in Women for Refugee Women's report that 71 per cent of women were under supervision by male staff despite the requirement under the Detention Services Order 06/2016 that detained women should wherever possible be supervised by female staff.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
There is detailed published guidance for all staff working in Immigration Removal Centres (IRCs). Detention Services Order (DSO) 06/2016 'Women in the immigration removal estate' sets out the processes that are undertaken in IRCs to ensure that the needs of women are identified and appropriately met and their rights to dignity and privacy are upheld. In addition, DSO 09/2012 ‘Searching Policy’ sets out the requirements for searching women in detention, providing clear guidance that women must only be searched by members of the same sex.
All staff working with women receive appropriate gender specific training (such as the protocol for entry to bedrooms), in addition to any generic training they receive when they undergo initial training or undertake appropriate refresher training. This includes equality and diversity, human trafficking and modern slavery.
The constant supervision of women who are subject to an Assessment Care in Detention and Teamwork (ACDT) plan, should wherever possible, be undertaken by a female detainee custody officer (DCO). In the unlikely event that this is not operationally possible for reasons of safety and security, the details for this decision must be fully documented by the duty manager on the ACDT plan.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to address the finding by Women for Refugee Women that 48 per cent of the women they spoke to were searched by male staff despite the ban on this practice under Detention Services Order 06/2016.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
There is detailed published guidance for all staff working in Immigration Removal Centres (IRCs). Detention Services Order (DSO) 06/2016 'Women in the immigration removal estate' sets out the processes that are undertaken in IRCs to ensure that the needs of women are identified and appropriately met and their rights to dignity and privacy are upheld. In addition, DSO 09/2012 ‘Searching Policy’ sets out the requirements for searching women in detention, providing clear guidance that women must only be searched by members of the same sex.
All staff working with women receive appropriate gender specific training (such as the protocol for entry to bedrooms), in addition to any generic training they receive when they undergo initial training or undertake appropriate refresher training. This includes equality and diversity, human trafficking and modern slavery.
The constant supervision of women who are subject to an Assessment Care in Detention and Teamwork (ACDT) plan, should wherever possible, be undertaken by a female detainee custody officer (DCO). In the unlikely event that this is not operationally possible for reasons of safety and security, the details for this decision must be fully documented by the duty manager on the ACDT plan.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of women's experiences of violence and abuse in the asylum system.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
There is detailed published guidance for all staff working in Immigration Removal Centres (IRCs). Detention Services Order (DSO) 06/2016 'Women in the immigration removal estate' sets out the processes that are undertaken in IRCs to ensure that the needs of women are identified and appropriately met and their rights to dignity and privacy are upheld. In addition, DSO 09/2012 ‘Searching Policy’ sets out the requirements for searching women in detention, providing clear guidance that women must only be searched by members of the same sex.
All staff working with women receive appropriate gender specific training (such as the protocol for entry to bedrooms), in addition to any generic training they receive when they undergo initial training or undertake appropriate refresher training. This includes equality and diversity, human trafficking and modern slavery.
The constant supervision of women who are subject to an Assessment Care in Detention and Teamwork (ACDT) plan, should wherever possible, be undertaken by a female detainee custody officer (DCO). In the unlikely event that this is not operationally possible for reasons of safety and security, the details for this decision must be fully documented by the duty manager on the ACDT plan.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the finding by the charity, Unseen, showing that in 2024 the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 generated £243 million, of which only £854,000 was attributable to the proceeds of modern slavery, and what plans they have to increase the use of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 to combat modern slavery.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
Modern slavery is a barbaric crime that dehumanises people for profit. The Government is committed to tackling it in all its forms and continues to work closely with law enforcement agencies and prosecution services to strengthen the operational response, to ensure we use every tool to pursue perpetrators and that victims are supported to recover from this horrendous abuse.
The Home Office Bulletin on Asset Recovery enables us to review how the powers under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 are being utilised by law enforcement in modern slavery cases.
The value obtained from orders in modern slavery cases can fluctuate depending on the specifics of each case and the criminal proceeds involved. There has been a consistent upward trend in the imposition of confiscation orders since the financial year 2021, however, we recognise more can be done to disrupt criminal enterprises and support victims of modern slavery through compensation.
That is why a key part of the Government’s work with the police and criminal justice partners is to encourage the use of financial investigations at the earliest opportunity in modern slavery cases. Through the Modern Slavery and Organised Immigration Crime Unit (MSOIC), funded by the Home Office, guidance and training has been delivered to forces to both enhance understanding of modern slavery among financial investigators, and to support Senior Investigating Officers’ use of financial investigation techniques.
Alongside this work, the National Crime Agency is also working with the banking sector through the Joint Money Laundering Intelligence Taskforce to identify red flags in financial transactions and alert these to the authorities.
During Anti-Slavery week last October, the Safeguarding Minister hosted roundtables with law enforcement agencies, criminal justice partners and Non-Government Organisations to get a better shared understanding of the criminal justice challenges. Over the next year, the Modern Slavery and Organised Immigration Crime Unit will lead work to develop a national framework for the investigation of modern slavery, to support police forces to secure better criminal justice outcomes, including through increased use of asset recovery powers.