Asked by: Siobhain McDonagh (Labour - Mitcham and Morden)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 7 December 2018 to Question 196679 on Slavery: Victim Support Schemes, whether he plans to adopt directly the Human Trafficking Foundation’s slavery and trafficking survivor care standards or introduce standards based on those produced by the Human Trafficking Foundation.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Shadow Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
The Government is committed to ensuring minimum standards of care in the new victim care contract. Compliance with a minimum standard of care will be monitored using an inspection regime, which will be based on the Human Trafficking Foundation’s Slavery and Trafficking Survivor Care Standards.
Asked by: Siobhain McDonagh (Labour - Mitcham and Morden)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 7 December 2018 to Question 196680 on Human trafficking: victim support schemes, whether there will be a public consultation on any future decisions on subsistence rates paid to people supported through the Victim Care Contract.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Shadow Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Government is committed to ensuring that potential victims of modern slavery receive the right amount of financial and material support to meet their needs during their reflection and recovery period.
There are no current plans to do a public consultation on the future subsistence rates.
Asked by: Siobhain McDonagh (Labour - Mitcham and Morden)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether he plans to provide additional funding to ensure the 2020 modern slavery victim care contract complies with the Human Trafficking Foundation's slavery and trafficking survivor care standards.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Shadow Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
The Government is committed to introducing minimum standards of care in the new victim care contract.
These standards will be monitored using an inspection regime, based on the Human Trafficking Foundation’s Slavery and Trafficking Survivor Care Standards. The tender of the new contract will include the standards and any costs associated will be incorporated as part of the contact procurement process.
Asked by: Siobhain McDonagh (Labour - Mitcham and Morden)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the Home Office's national referral mechanism reform guidance published in October 2018 and the High Court judgement on AM & K versus SSHD, whether the plans to make the cuts proposed as part of the national referral mechanism reforms will still go ahead in February and March 2019.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Shadow Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
The Home Office has paused the staged implementation of the alignment of subsistence rates for potential victims of modern slavery with those received by asylum seekers, which was due to start in February 2019, whilst it considers the implication of the judgment in AM and K vs SSHD.
We will work through the implications of the judgment in respect to our future approach to financial support, and will share further details as soon as we are able. The Home Office has immediately reinstated the top up paid to those in the Victim Care Contract who are also receiving support from the asylum support system, so that they receive a total of £65 per week whilst this work is carried out.
We are committed to reforming the National Referral Mechanism to ensure that as many victims of modern slavery as possible