Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to tackle the operations of trafficking gangs in the UK.

The Home Office works closely with the National Crime Agency, the police and prosecution services to strengthen the operational response to modern slavery and human trafficking to drive performance. There has been a significant uplift in police activity on modern slavery, including targeted interventions since the Modern Slavery Act 2015 came into force, with over 3100 live investigations in March 2026, compared to almost 200 in December 2016.

As part of the Modern Slavery Action Plan for 2025/26, under ‘Project Turnstone’, the National Police Chiefs’ Council Modern Slavery and Organised Immigration Crime Programme delivered a new framework for investigating modern slavery, which includes a comprehensive suite of guidance available to forces to improve national consistency and equip officers with practical tools for identifying, disrupting, and tackling traffickers.

We will continue to work closely with law enforcement agencies to support a strong and coordinated multi-agency approach to target and bring trafficking gangs to justice and ensure victims are safeguarded.