Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate she has made of the number of people who are victims of human trafficking.

The Home Office does not have an up-to-date estimate of the number of victims of human trafficking. Understanding the true scale of modern slavery is difficult due to a few factors, including the hidden nature of the crime.

We understand from recent estimates by NGOs that well over 100,000 individuals in the UK may be affected by this crime.

Data on the number of identified potential victims of modern slavery in the UK, as indicated through National Referral Mechanism (NRM) referrals, are published every quarter. In total, 19,125 potential victims of modern slavery were referred in 2024 (with latest 2025 annual figures to be published later this month). We continually look to improve the quality and provision of these statistics. The NRM statistics publications can be found here: National Referral Mechanism statistics - GOV.UK.

The Government remains firmly committed to ensuring that all victims of human trafficking and modern slavery are effectively identified and supported to rebuild their lives, while taking action to bring those who exploit vulnerable people to justice.