Asked by: Kim Johnson (Labour - Liverpool, Riverside)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask the Attorney General, how many and what proportion of (a) children and (b) adults prosecuted for (i) homicide, (ii) attempted homicide and (iii) other offences had been assessed under the modern slavery national referral mechanism in each of the last 10 years.
Answered by Robert Courts - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) does not hold data on the number of defendants assessed under the modern slavery National Referral Mechanism (NRM). This information could only be obtained by an examination of CPS case files, which would incur disproportionate cost.
The NRM is the UK framework for identifying and referring potential victims of modern slavery and ensuring they receive the appropriate support. Certain public authorities, including the police, have a statutory duty to refer potential victims to the NRM. Adults must agree to this. The CPS cannot make referrals; it is not a first responder.
Section 45 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 provides for a statutory defence for adult and child victims of modern slavery who are accused of committing criminal offences. The defence does not apply to the most serious crimes such as murder or manslaughter.
Asked by: Olivia Blake (Labour - Sheffield, Hallam)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will publish assessments of facilities that will accommodate potential victims of modern slavery ineligible for support under the Modern Slavery Victim Care Contract.
Answered by Michael Tomlinson - Minister of State (Minister for Illegal Migration)
The Home Office published the Illegal Migration Bill (IMB) Equality Impact Assessment (EIA) on 10 May 2023. We are committed to taking the steps to ensure any potential impacts identified are appropriately mitigated when implementing the policy.
Where an individual has not made a protection claim and is granted immigration bail, support may be available under Schedule 10 of the Immigration Act 2016.
The Government is consulting with operational partners to implement sections 22 – 29 of the IMA. Guidance is under development which will support the operation of provisions in the IMA, once commenced.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Bristol (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many individuals referred to the National Referral Mechanism for modern slavery after arriving in the UK irregularly since January 2022 were referred because of (1) exploitation which happened in the UK, and (2) trafficking to the UK.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The Home Office publishes statistics on irregular arrivals to the UK, including those arriving via small boats, in the ‘Irregular migration to the UK statistics’ release on gov.uk. Data on National Referral Mechanism (NRM) referrals from small boat arrivals and the outcomes of these referrals is published in tables Irr_D04 and Irr_D05 of the ‘Irregular migration to the UK detailed datasets’, with the latest data up to the end of May 2023.
The Home Office does not publish data on modern slavery referrals for other irregular arrivals, or data on the nature or location of the exploitation.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Bristol (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many individuals referred to the National Referral Mechanism for modern slavery after arriving in the UK irregularly since January 2022 have been given (1) a positive reasonable grounds decision, (2) a negative reasonable grounds decision, (3) a positive conclusive grounds decision, and (4) a negative conclusive grounds decision.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The Home Office publishes statistics on irregular arrivals to the UK, including those arriving via small boats, in the ‘Irregular migration to the UK statistics’ release on gov.uk. Data on National Referral Mechanism (NRM) referrals from small boat arrivals and the outcomes of these referrals is published in tables Irr_D04 and Irr_D05 of the ‘Irregular migration to the UK detailed datasets’, with the latest data up to the end of May 2023.
The Home Office does not publish data on modern slavery referrals for other irregular arrivals, or data on the nature or location of the exploitation.
Asked by: Feryal Clark (Labour - Enfield North)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps he is taking to help tackle modern slavery in (a) Enfield North constituency, (b) the London Borough of Enfield and (c) London.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
Tackling modern slavery remains a priority for this government. We are committed to stamping out this abhorrent crime, working closely with law enforcement, criminal justice partners, business, civil society and local government to do so.
The UK response is underpinned by the Modern Slavery Strategy 2014 and the Modern Slavery Act 2015, which has given law enforcement agencies the tools to tackle modern slavery, including maximum life sentences for perpetrators and enhanced protection for victims.
In addition to core police funding, since 2016 we have invested £17.8 million in the Modern Slavery and Organised Immigration Crime Unit - a specialist police unit which supports all police forces in England and Wales, including the Metropolitan Police Service, to improve their response to modern slavery by increasing forces’ capability to identify and prosecute modern slavery crimes.
The Metropolitan Police Service (MET) also operates a dedicated Modern Slavery and Child Exploitation Team staffed by specialist officers, which plays a vital role in tackling modern slavery across London.
The National Referral Mechanism (NRM) is the framework for identifying and referring potential victims of modern slavery and ensuring they receive the appropriate support. If a First Responder thinks that modern slavery has taken place, the case should be referred to the NRM so that the relevant competent authority can fully consider the case. This process operates across all of England and Wales.
The Home Office also funds the Modern Slavery Victim Care Contract (MSVCC) to provide specialist support to adult victims of modern slavery in England and Wales. A total of 10,704 adults in England and Wales received support through the MSVCC during the year ending June 2023, the largest number supported for any year since the contract began.
In addition to local child protection procedures and support, the Government has rolled out Independent Child Trafficking Guardians (ICTGs) to two thirds of local authorities in England and Wales. The ICTG service provides an additional source of advice and support for potentially trafficked children, irrespective of nationality or immigration status. ICTGs currently operate in London, including Enfield.
The Devolved Decision-Making Pilot, which aims to test whether determining if a child is a victim of modern slavery within existing safeguarding structures is a better model for making modern slavery decisions for children is being tested in 20 pilot sites across the UK. The pilot has 8 pilot sites in Greater London, covering 10 local authorities, including Enfield Council.
Dec. 14 2023
Source Page: Review of risk of modern slavery and human trafficking in the NHS supply chainFound: Review of risk of modern slavery and human trafficking in the NHS supply chain
Dec. 14 2023
Source Page: Review of risk of modern slavery and human trafficking in the NHS supply chainFound: Review of risk of modern slavery and human trafficking in the NHS supply chain
Correspondence Mar. 05 2024
Committee: Home Affairs Committee (Department: Home Office)Found: Letter from the Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner following up the evidence session on 6 February
Asked by: Iain Duncan Smith (Conservative - Chingford and Woodford Green)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if his Department will review declarations by UK companies on (a) slave and (b) forced labour in their supply chains.
Answered by Laura Farris - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Ministry of Justice) (jointly with Home Office)
Home Office Ministers have not met with businesses which operate in China to discuss the Modern Slavey Act 2015.
Under Section 54 of the Modern Slavery Act, commercial businesses who operate in the UK and have a turnover of £36m or more are required to report annually on the steps they have taken to prevent modern slavery in their operations and supply chains. The aim of the requirement is to provide transparency, allowing consumers, investors, and civil society to scrutinise business action.
In 2021 the Government launched the modern slavery statement registry to bring together modern slavery statements on a single platform and make the data readily available for investors, civil society and consumers. Since launching the online modern slavery statement registry in March 2021, over 12,500 modern slavery statements covering over 43,000 organisations have been submitted to the registry on a voluntary basis.
The Government does not routinely review the quality of individual modern slavery statements.
Oct. 11 2023
Source Page: Home Secretary announces new Independent Anti-Slavery CommissionerFound: Home Secretary announces new Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner