Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether UK Visas and Immigration staff receive mandatory training on (a) identifying signs of exploitation and (b) what actions to take if exploitation is identified; and what information is covered in this training.

“UK Visas and Immigration takes the protection of vulnerable applicants seriously and expects staff to complete mandatory e-learning courses on modern slavery. The courses, which cover human trafficking and slavery, servitude and forced or compulsory labour provide important information on indicators of vulnerability and the actions to be taken in the event that these indicators are identified during interaction with applicants.

Additionally, as part of the package of reforms to the National Referral Mechanism, the UK’s system for identifying and supporting victims of modern slavery and human trafficking, the Home Office is leading a multi-agency review to determine how to strengthen training on identifying and supporting victims for all First Responders, including those at UK Visas and immigration”.