Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what progress she has made on (a) recruiting and (b) appointing a new Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner.

The role of the Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner (IASC) as set out in the 2015 Modern Slavery Act is to encourage good practice in the prevention, detection, investigation and prosecution of slavery and human trafficking offences and the identification of victims.

The Home Secretary recognises the importance of the role of Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner and has committed to running a new open competition to recruit for this role; the process will begin shortly.

The competition will be conducted as quickly as possible, whilst ensuring we take the necessary steps to recruit the best person for the role.