Asked by: Lord McColl of Dulwich (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many children have been referred to Independent Child Trafficking Guardians since 1 February 2019.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
An evaluation of the Independent Child Trafficking Guardians (ICTG) service within the early adopter sites was published in July 2019 and can be found here (https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/819723/evaluation-independent-child-trafficking-guardians-final-horr111.pdf). This evaluation was conducted on the service provided in the three initial sites of Greater Manchester, Hampshire and Wales between February 2017 and January 2019. Over this time period, 445 children were referred to the ICTG service.
Later this year the Home Office will publish its next evaluation of the ICTG service, which will have a particular focus on the role and impact of the Regional Practice Co-Ordinator and will provide further updates on outcomes of the service including the number of children it supports.
In 2019, the Independent Review of the Modern Slavery Act 2015, made a number of recommendations about ICTGs. In-line with the Government’s response (https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/815410/Government_Response_to_Independent_Review_of_MS_Act.pdf), we are considering these recommendations, alongside evaluation outcomes, which will feed into our future plans for ICTGs.
Asked by: Lord McColl of Dulwich (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Williams of Trafford on 11 March (HL1946), whether they will now answer the question put, namely how many (1) non-EEA, and (2) non-UK national victims of trafficking with a positive conclusive grounds decision have received support following a recovery needs assessment.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
The information requested on RNA data does not currently form part of the published NRM statistics. The Home Office publishes quarterly statistics regarding the National Referral Mechanism (NRM) which can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/national-referral-mechanism-statistics.
The UK Annual Report on Modern Slavery can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/2019-uk-annual-report-on-modern-slavery.
Asked by: Lord McColl of Dulwich (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have (1) to update the guidance on the recovery needs assessments, and (2) to publish an evaluation of the first nine months of the recovery needs assessment.
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 providing victims with the support that they need to help re-build their lives.
Since the roll-out of the Recovery Needs Assessment (RNA) in September 2019, we have worked collaboratively with The Salvation Army (TSA), TSA’s subcontracted support providers and wider stakeholders to implement this new process and gather wider feedback from frontline staff on aspects of the published guidance.
An updated version of the guidance will be published later in 2020, alongside the introduction of a restructured RNA form which will be amended to reflect feedback from support workers using the form on the front line..
The 2020 Modern Slavery Annual Report, due for publication in October 2020, will include further information about the roll-out of the RNA over the past year.
Asked by: Lord McColl of Dulwich (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the number of victims of human trafficking that have lost Government support and assistance during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
Support provided to victims of modern slavery through the Victim Care Contract (VCC) is available to potential and confirmed victims for as long as they have an identified recovery need that cannot be met by alternative services.
A confirmed victim will only be exited from Victim Care Contract (VCC) support where the Recovery Needs Assessment (RNA) process finds that there is no longer an ongoing recovery need for VCC support or that the confirmed victim has access to alternative support services to meet their recovery needs, such as local authority housing or mainstream benefits. This process ensures that ongoing support is tailored to the victim’s individual recovery needs arising from their modern slavery experiences.
Contingency planning has, and continues to, ensure essential services and support for all victims of modern slavery is available throughout the COVID-19 pandemic and as lockdown begins to ease. Through the RNA process, we also consider the impact the pandemic is having on access to alternative services which may impact on a victim’s ability to move on from VCC services.
On 6 April, in line with Public Health England guidance, we announced that all individuals accommodated by the VCC would not be required to move on from their Government-funded accommodation for a period of three months. This has now been extended and the policy will remain in place until 6 August 2020.
Asked by: Lord McColl of Dulwich (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how much money has been allocated to fund independent guardians for trafficked children in the current, and each of the last three, financial years; and how much they intend to allocate for such purposes in 2020–21.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
Over the last three financial years, the Home Office has allocated approximately £3m to the provision of Independent Child Trafficking Guardians (ICTGs) in early adopter sites, broken down as: 2017/18, £0.5m; 2018/19, £1m; 2019/20, £1.53m. Home Office budget allocations for 2020/21 are currently being agreed.
Asked by: Lord McColl of Dulwich (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many victims of human trafficking who receive a positive conclusive grounds decision have (1) had the recovery needs assessment, and (2) been granted additional support; what is the average length of time assigned to victims under the recovery needs assessment; and how many of those who have been granted additional support are waiting for an immigration decision from the Home Office.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
The National Referral Mechanism (NRM) is the UK’s system for identifying and providing access to support for potential victims of modern slavery.
Potential victims have their individual support needs assessed on entry to the NRM and through contact with their support worker while they remain in the system awaiting a conclusive grounds (CG) decision. The Recovery Needs Assessment is conducted after a positive CG.
The RNA enables support workers to consider whether a victim has any ongoing recovery needs arising from their modern slavery experience.
The information requested on RNA data does not currently form part of the published NRM statistics. The Home Office publishes quarterly statistics regarding the National Referral Mechanism (NRM) which can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/national-referral-mechanism-statistics
The UK Annual Report on Modern Slavery can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/2019-uk-annual-report-on-modern-slavery
Asked by: Lord McColl of Dulwich (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many victims of human trafficking in England and Wales with a positive conclusive grounds decision received discretionary leave to remain in 2018–19, and on what grounds.
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 quarterly statistics regarding the National Referral Mechanism (NRM) which can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/national-referral-mechanism-statistics and the UK Annual Report on Modern Slavery which can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/2019-uk-annual-report-on-modern-slavery
Statistics on the total number of people granted discretionary leave for all reasons can be found at:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/immigration-statistics-year-ending-december-2019
A positive conclusive grounds decision does not result in an automatic grant of immigration leave. However, the Single Competent Authority (SCA) will consider whether a grant of discretionary leave is appropriate based on the victim’s individual circumstances and usually after consideration has been made by UK Visas and Immigration of any existing applications for more advantageous forms of leave.
The grounds for granting discretionary leave to victims of modern slavery, which includes human trafficking, slavery, servitude and forced or compulsory labour, can be found at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/739436/dl-for-victims-of-modern-slavery-v2.pdf
Asked by: Lord McColl of Dulwich (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many victims of human trafficking with a positive (1) reasonable, and (2) conclusive, grounds decision are currently held in immigration detention.
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 does record the number of all individuals referred to the National Referral Mechanism (NRM) this information is published quarterly and can be found at:
This information does not distinguish between those detained under immigration powers and those living in the community. The reason for this is two-fold, firstly because the NRM referral is not an immigration route by which individuals should regularise their stay in the United Kingdom and secondly, because a person’s status in immigration detention is not permanent and can change.
The use of immigration detention in all cases is subject to regular reviews and consequently, a change in circumstance may result in a different consideration. It is quite possible that an immigration detainee is referred to the National Referral Mechanism during a detention period and is re-leased into the community at any point during that process.
As National Referral Mechanism (NRM) referrals, Reasonable Grounds and Conclusive Grounds decisions are considered separately from immigration enforcement action, there is no central record of those who have received a positive (1) reasonable, and (2) conclusive, grounds decision and are detained under immigration powers. The Home Office therefore does not collate or publish the data requested.
Published data on the number individuals held in immigration detention can be found at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/immigration-statistics-year-ending-december-2018/how-many-people-are-detained-or-returned
Asked by: Lord McColl of Dulwich (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to incorporate EU Directive 2011/36/EU on preventing and combating trafficking in human beings and protecting its victims into UK law.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
The Government is committed to eradicating human trafficking and the scourge of modern slavery.
The UK currently gives effect to obligations on modern slavery under The Council of Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings (ECAT), Article 4 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) and the EU Anti-Trafficking Directive (2011/36), through the Modern Slavery Act 2015 and policy guidance.
At the end of the EU Exit transition period in December 2020, the UK will no longer be bound by EU law. The Modern Slavery Act 2015 and relevant policy guidance will be unaffected. The UK will remain bound by international obligations in relation to preventing and combatting human trafficking and modern slavery.
Asked by: Lord McColl of Dulwich (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many (1) non-EEA, and (2) non-UK national, victims of trafficking with a positive conclusive grounds decision have received support following a recovery needs assessment.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
The National Referral Mechanism (NRM) is the UK’s system for identifying and providing access to support for potential victims of modern slavery.
Potential victims have their individual support needs assessed on entry to the NRM and through contact with their support worker while they remain in the system awaiting a conclusive grounds (CG) decision. The Recovery Needs Assessment is conducted after a positive CG.
The RNA enables support workers to consider whether a victim has any ongoing recovery needs arising from their modern slavery experience.
The information requested on RNA data does not currently form part of the published NRM statistics. The Home Office publishes quarterly statistics regarding the National Referral Mechanism (NRM) which can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/national-referral-mechanism-statistics
The UK Annual Report on Modern Slavery can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/2019-uk-annual-report-on-modern-slavery