Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to findings by ECPAT UK of November 2017 on calls for reform of the National Referral Mechanism (NRM) by front-line professionals, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of making the NRM part of the existing child protection system.

We recognise the essential role local authorities play in the safeguarding of all children in their care, regardless of their backgrounds or experiences. It is absolutely right that local authorities continue to make decisions about the placement and welfare of children they have responsibility for, which includes assessing risks such as trafficking, and considering the need to refer them to the National Referral Mechanism (NRM).

The recently announced package of reforms to the NRM includes a number of measures that will improve the process for both adults and children. A single expert unit will be created in the Home Office to handle all cases referred from front line staff and to make decisions about whether somebody is a victim of modern slavery. This will replace the current case management units in the National Crime Agency and UK Visas and Immigration and will be separate from the immigration system.

In addition government will be introducing an independent panel of experts to review all negative conclusive grounds decisions, adding significantly to the scrutiny such cases currently receive.