Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many victims of slavery who are no longer receiving support through the asylum system (a) have applied for a subsistence rate back payment and (b) are yet to apply for a back payment.

Government is making every effort to pay back everyone affected by the subsistence rate contract changes for asylum-seeking victims of modern slavery made in March 2018.

Based on the current data, we have identified 1,208 potential victims of trafficking that have been affected and are entitled to back payments. 989 of those affected are still in both National Referral Mechanism (NRM) and asylum support, 150 are no longer in NRM support but are still in asylum support, and 69 are no longer in either NRM or asylum support.

On 24 January 2019, personalised letters were sent out to all those we identified as being affected and eligible for repayments. For those still in support, the letters detailed how much and how they will be paid. For those who have left support, the letters explained how to apply for these pay-ments.

If an individual believes they are eligible but does not receive a letter, they can complete an application form on gov.uk. There is no closing date for when people can apply for back payments if they think they are eligible. Further information is available on gov.uk (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/claim-a-subsistence-rates-back-payment-victims-of-modern-slavery).

We are not releasing the number of people who have already applied through the application form on gov.uk as this is an ongoing process and we will be working with these individuals to ensure those who are eligible are paid.