Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she plans to update the 2014 figure for the estimated number of victims of modern slavery; and if she will make a statement.

The Government recognises the importance of understanding the scale and nature of modern slavery in the UK. In 2014, the Home Office estimated there were 10,000-13,000 potential victims of modern slavery in the UK in 2013. This estimate used a methodology known as Multiple Systems Estimation.

The data this estimate was based on is no longer collected in a manner that enables Multiple Systems Estimation to be repeated. However, our understanding of the scale of modern slavery is evolving as more victims are identified and following increased operational activity. Last month the Home Office published research that examined the nature of different types of modern slavery in the UK, this research can be accessed at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/a-typology-of-modern-slavery-offences-in-the-uk