Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether people who have been identified as potential victims of human trafficking or modern slavery during immigration detention and who have then received reasonable conclusive grounds under the National Referral Mechanism are released on receipt of that grounds decision.

The necessary assistance and support, including medical treatment, information and interpretation services are available in immigration removal centres to fulfil the UK’s obligations under Articles 12 and 13 of the Council of Europe Convention on Action Against Trafficking and Article 11 of Directive 2011/36/EU. However, under current Government policy, potential victims of modern slavery identified in detention will be referred to the National Referral Mechanism (NRM) and will be released following a positive reasonable grounds decision, unless there are public order considerations to justify their detention.

Those who receive a positive conclusive grounds decision to the effect that they are a victim of modern slavery under the NRM, but who have no leave to remain in the UK, may be detained in order to effect their removal. However, they will be regarded as vulnerable in the terms of the Home Office’s adults at risk in immigration detention policy (AAR). This means that such individuals will be detained, or their detention continued, only when the evidence of their vulnerability is outweighed by the immigration considerations in their particular case, including likely date of removal, compliance with immigration law and public protection.