Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of her Department's procedures for identifying the exploitation and human trafficking of undocumented non-EEA nationals working in the UK fishing industry; and if she will make a statement.

The Government has introduced mandatory training for Border Force and UKVI staff to identify at risk seafarers from outside the EEA who enter the UK in order to join a vessel departing from a UK port. They are advised of their rights before they board vessels and any suspicious circumstances in relation to vessels and contracts are investigated further.

The Government also introduced specific maritime provisions in the Modern Slavery Act 2015 to provide powers to law enforcement agencies to tackle suspected slavery at sea and have provided significant additional funding to the police to improve the wider operational response to modern slavery. This funding includes provision for a dedicated ports and transport officer to provide tactical advice on all aspects of slavery and exploitation occurring in the maritime arena.

We keep the effectiveness of these measures under review, and will consider whether checks on those coming to join UK-based fishing vessels should be adjusted to reflect the ILO Work in Fishing Convention 2007 (ILO 188) which sets out minimum living and working conditions for fishermen.