Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when she plans to publish guidance on victim identification and support for those who have been subject to human trafficking.

The recent announcements on National Referral Mechanism (NRM) reform indicate the Government’s commitment to markedly improve the identification of, and support provided to, victims of modern slavery. This includes the provision of ‘drop in’ services for all confirmed victims for up to 6 months after leaving support to aid the transition, provided by The Salvation Army.

The Government also announced its intention to invoke Section 50 of the Modern Slavery Act, setting out in regulation the support that victims are entitled to and to launch a consultation in the preparation of statutory guidance, under Section 49 of the Modern Slavery Act, on identification and support for victims of slavery;

Detailed implementation plans for the reform programme are currently being developed which will identify likely timescales for each of the reform measures and the relevant cost implications will be factored into our routine financial planning process.