Asked by: Max Wilkinson (Liberal Democrat - Cheltenham)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will introduce protections to ensure asylum seekers under the duress of criminal gangs are not punished for failing to disclose they are being influenced.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
We recognise that that all asylum seekers are potentially vulnerable, and during the asylum decision making process, we aim to ensure that particularly vulnerable claimants are identified, the particular difficulties they may face in disclosing their experiences are given due consideration when assessing their credibility, and that they are given help in accessing appropriate services.
As the Home Secretary said in her statement of 17 November, we are committed to ensuring that victims of modern slavery are quickly identified and can access the necessary support through the National Referral Mechanism (NRM), which is the UK’s framework for identifying and supporting victims of exploitation and human trafficking. However, we are also determined to pursue and tackle any abuse of the system to ensure it is working effectively for victims.
NRM decision-makers are trained to recognise conditions which may cause delays or inconsistencies in an individual’s account, including trauma, barriers to disclosure, and a reluctance on the part of potential victim to self-identify themselves as such. Timing of disclosure is also a relevant factor in assessing a potential victim’s modern slavery case. We will strengthen this further to ensure that it is a key consideration when deciding on the credibility of a case, whilst bearing in mind the impact that trauma has on victims of these crimes.
Asked by: Bell Ribeiro-Addy (Labour - Clapham and Brixton Hill)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps will be taken to involve individuals with lived experience and civil society groups in shaping the modern slavery legislation proposed in the Restoring Order and Control policy paper published on 17 November 2025.
Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
We are seeking to introduce new modern slavery legislation as part of our efforts to review and improve the modern slavery system. New legislation will enable us to clearly articulate the UK’s responsibilities under international law regarding modern slavery, allowing us to reduce opportunities for misuse, whilst also ensuring that we continue to provide the right protections for those who need it.
The government recently concluded a public Call for Evidence to understand how it could improve the process of identifying victims of modern slavery, human trafficking and exploitation. It was open for twelve weeks and closed on 8 October 2025.
This gave us an opportunity to hear the views of survivors, first responders, law enforcement and prosecution services, devolved administrations, NGOs and any groups or people with an interest in the modern slavery victim identification system. This work has fed into our understanding and will inform future policy and legislative development.
We also plan to arrange workshops with survivors relating to the Call for Evidence themes. More information on these workshops will be shared in due course.
I can confirm that we will be inviting key stakeholders to a Modern Slavery Forum meeting in January to consult on our plans. We will be able to confirm our legislative plans in due course.
Asked by: Bell Ribeiro-Addy (Labour - Clapham and Brixton Hill)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department plans to release the proposed modern slavery legislation, referenced in the Restoring Order and Control policy paper published on 17 November 2025.
Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
We are seeking to introduce new modern slavery legislation as part of our efforts to review and improve the modern slavery system. New legislation will enable us to clearly articulate the UK’s responsibilities under international law regarding modern slavery, allowing us to reduce opportunities for misuse, whilst also ensuring that we continue to provide the right protections for those who need it.
The government recently concluded a public Call for Evidence to understand how it could improve the process of identifying victims of modern slavery, human trafficking and exploitation. It was open for twelve weeks and closed on 8 October 2025.
This gave us an opportunity to hear the views of survivors, first responders, law enforcement and prosecution services, devolved administrations, NGOs and any groups or people with an interest in the modern slavery victim identification system. This work has fed into our understanding and will inform future policy and legislative development.
We also plan to arrange workshops with survivors relating to the Call for Evidence themes. More information on these workshops will be shared in due course.
I can confirm that we will be inviting key stakeholders to a Modern Slavery Forum meeting in January to consult on our plans. We will be able to confirm our legislative plans in due course.
Asked by: Jess Asato (Labour - Lowestoft)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Education on improving consistency in identification of child victims of modern slavery by introducing a statutory definition of child criminal exploitation; and whether she will include a definition in an updated edition of the Working Together to Safeguard Children statutory guidance.
Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The Home Office is working closely with the Department for Education to improve the identification and response to victims of child criminal exploitation (CCE).
As committed to in the Government’s manifesto, we are introducing a new offence of child criminal exploitation in the Crime and Policing Bill. The offence itself already defines CCE.
In addition, we will include a definition of child criminal exploitation in the statutory guidance that the Government will issue to the police in relation to the new offence. The CCE definition in this statutory guidance will set out in layman’s terms the conduct captured by the offence as well as additional information for police and practitioners on how the offence should be applied and victims identified by the police. This will promote awareness and ensure there is a shared understanding of child criminal exploitation so that victims are better identified and receive the protection they need.
We will also review existing guidance, including Working Together to Safeguard Children and consider what amendments to such guidance may be needed as a result of introducing this new offence.
A public Call for Evidence on how the Government can improve the process of identifying victims of modern slavery, human trafficking and exploitation closed on 8th October, and the Home Office is analysing the responses received.
Asked by: Pippa Heylings (Liberal Democrat - South Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department are taking to tackle (a) modern slavery and (b) human trafficking through (i) earlier identification and (ii) long term support for victims.
Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The Government is committed to tackling modern slavery and human trafficking in all its forms and to giving survivors the support they need to recover. The National Referral Mechanism (NRM) is the UK’s framework for identifying and supporting potential victims of modern slavery.
In July 2025, the Home Office launched a public Call for Evidence on how the Government can improve the process of identifying victims of modern slavery, human trafficking and exploitation. This closed on 8 October 2025, and we are now analysing the responses received.
The Home Office is in the process of procuring the new Support for Victims of Modern Slavery contract, which aims to deliver positive outcomes for adult survivors, supporting them to achieve long-term stability, live independently and reduce their risk of re-exploitation
In September, the Home Office also launched the tender for the new Independent Child Trafficking Guardianship contract, which will expand the service coverage from two-thirds of local authorities in England and Wales to provide support to all child victims referred into the NRM in England and Wales.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether public sector contracting authorities are required to adopt scientific tools under the Procurement Act 2023 to assess the presence of forced labour in suppliers’ operations; and if so, how their use is being evaluated and whether such technology is being rolled out for more extensive use.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
Abhorrent practices such as modern slavery, human trafficking and human rights abuses have no place in public supply chains or in wider society. This Government is determined to stamp this out. Procurement Policy Note (PPN) 009 ‘Tackling Modern Slavery in Government Supply Chains’ encourages departments to conduct due diligence using a range of tools and approaches to assess risks. The PPN sets out key actions to identify risks and recommends the use of tools such as the Modern Slavery Assessment Tool to support departments in managing risks.
The Procurement Act 2023 also provides contracting authorities with stronger powers to exclude suppliers from public procurements where there is compelling evidence of modern slavery within their supply chains.
Asked by: Abtisam Mohamed (Labour - Sheffield Central)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of establishing independent modern slavery advocates for survivors of modern slavery and human trafficking.
Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The Government recognises the role of Independent Modern Slavery Advocates (IMSAs) in empowering victims of exploitation. IMSAs can play an important role in helping victims understand their rights and navigate complex systems.
Under the Home Office funded Modern Slavery Victim Care Contract (MSVCC), adult victims are provided with a dedicated support worker who also offers tailored assistance across social, legal, psychological and health domains. The support will continue under the new Support for Victims of Modern Slavery (SVMS) contract, when the MSVCC ends in 2027.
In developing the SVMS contract, we have engaged extensively with frontline practitioners and individuals with lived experience. We assessed the merits of different support models, to inform enhancements to the training, partnership working, and access to specialist resources for support workers, ensuring that they are well equipped to meet the complex and evolving needs of victims and to support a smooth transition from contracted support to wider services.
Asked by: Mary Glindon (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne East and Wallsend)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the 10 Year Health Plan on victims of (a) modern slavery and (b) human trafficking.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
When developing the 10-Year Health Plan, workshops were held for people experiencing multiple forms of social and economic exclusion played a large part in it, including victims of modern slavery.
As part of the recommendations from the review into modern slavery risk in NHS supply chains in December 2023, it was recommended to lay regulations with a view to eradicate modern slavery, supporting the amendment of Section 12zc in the NHS Act 2006.
The Department of Health and Social Care and NHS England in collaboration have developed detailed guidance to support the embedding of the regulations and policies throughout a procurement exercise. This ensures alignment of procurements conducted under all legal regimes including the Public Contracts Regulations 2015, Procurement Act 2023 and the Health Care Services (Provider Selection Regime) Regulations 2023.
A public consultation for the content and approach of those regulations was launched in Autumn 2024. A Written Ministerial Statement (WMS) was laid in both Houses of Parliament on 21 November 2024 to launch the consultation, and is available at the following link:
https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-statements/detail/2024-11-21/hcws245.
As set out in the WMS, the draft regulations and guidance were published alongside the consultation. The consultation closed in February 2025 and the Department published a consultation report in June, which is available at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/tackling-modern-slavery-in-nhs-procurement-proposed-regulations-and-guidance/outcome/tackling-modern-slavery-in-nhs-procurement-government-response. It is planned to lay the regulations in the autumn, to come into force in the spring/summer of 2026.
The published guidance is available at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/tackling-modern-slavery-in-nhs-procurement-proposed-regulations-and-guidance. This refers to a risk assessment tool that NHS England have developed based on the six characteristics to help assess modern slavery risks as set out in the Public Procurement Policy Note on identifying and managing modern slavery risks. These are: industry type; nature of the workforce; supplier location; context in which the supplier operates; commodity type; and business/supply chain model.
Asked by: Chris Murray (Labour - Edinburgh East and Musselburgh)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what plans he has for the future of the Fair Work Agency; what statutory duties it will assume from the Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority in responding to modern slavery and human trafficking; and what (a) resources, (b) staffing and (c) training he expects them to need.
Answered by Justin Madders
The Fair Work Agency will take on the full remit of the Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority (GLAA).
Collaborating with other government bodies will be crucial to the Fair Work Agency effectively enforcing employment rights. We have ensured it will be able to share information with specified bodies where disclosures are relevant to their statutory function.
The Government is committed to ensuring the Fair Work Agency has what it needs to do its job. The Bill therefore provides for the transfer of existing staff to ensure we retain the relevant expertise.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask the Attorney General, how many people have been charged with human trafficking offences in relation to small boat crossings in each of the last three years.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
Human trafficking flagged prosecutions data, which includes offences committed under the Modern Slavery Act 2015 and comparable offences committed prior to 2015, is published each quarter. The latest information was published on 17 July and can be found here. It is not possible to distil from this data whether any of these cases involved people who arrived in the UK on a small boat without conducting a manual review of cases which would incur a disproportionate cost.
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) considers all cases referred to it by law enforcement. It has increased prosecutions for immigration related offences since the Nationality and Borders Act 2022 came into force, which introduced a new offence of illegal arrival and increased sentencing for illegal entry and related offences and facilitation offences contained in the Immigration Act 1971.
Organised crime groups are highly adaptable and are exploiting people for gain with no regard for their safety or our border controls. A multi-agency response is key to tackling this. The CPS plays an important part in the whole system response to organised immigration crime in the Border Security Command. The CPS has also increased engagement with overseas partners to maximise opportunities to collaborate on information and evidence gathering, to prosecute more swiftly.
Under the Modern Slavery Action Plan, the Home Office has commissioned research to better understand the links between organised immigration crime and modern slavery.