Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the High Court judgment in respect of K & Anor, R (on the application of) v Secretary of State for the Home Department of 8 November 2018, whether all victims of trafficking who had their subsistence rates cut between March and November 2018 and subsequently exited the National Referral Mechanism will receive the full back payment.

The Government is committed to tacking the scourge of modern slavery and supporting those affected by this crime.

In 2017, Home Office Ministers agreed a comprehensive package of reforms to the National Referral Mechanism, which included the introduction of places of safety for those leaving situations of exploitation, trebling the period of move on support to assist victims moving out of government funded support and aligning the subsistence rates paid to potential victims of modern slavery with those received by asylum seekers.

In light of the judgment in K and AM, we are currently putting in place processes to ensure that those who have been affected receive a full back payment as soon as possible. We will set out how we plan to respond in due course, including those who have left NRM support.

We are committed to reforming the National Referral Mechanism to ensure that as many victims of modern slavery as possible get the support they need.