Asked by: Alex Norris (Labour (Co-op) - Nottingham North)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether people in the National Referral Mechanism in receipt of Victim Care Contract support will continue to receive that support during covid-19 lockdown restrictions.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic the safety and security of potential and confirmed victims of modern slavery has been our priority. We have continued to work closely with the Prime Contractor for the Victim Care Contract (VCC), The Salvation Army, to ensure individuals get the support they need and we can continue to take new referrals.
There remains flexibility in the VCC to address the impacts of COVID-19 restrictions through existing policies, such as the extension request mechanism and Recovery Needs Assessments (RNAs). A minimum of 45 calendar days of VCC ‘move-on’ support will be maintained for confirmed victims following their receipt of a positive Conclusive Grounds (CG) decision and support is then tailored based on the recovery needs of the victims. The extension request process remains in place for individuals in receipt of a negative CG decision who require longer to exit support.
Support workers will continue to consider the capacity of local services when planning move-on after a positive or negative Conclusive Grounds decision and will not facilitate move-on unless it is safe and appropriate to do so. RNA decision-making by the Single Competent Authority will also take account of these factors.
Asked by: Alex Norris (Labour (Co-op) - Nottingham North)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether financial support for victims of trafficking is adjusted for inflation by (a) date and (b) amount of each adjustment.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
In reference to your first question, the rates for financial support are set out in the Victim Care Contract (VCC) and Modern Slavery Act 2015: Statutory Guidance for England and Wales. These rates have not been adjusted for inflation, however, they are kept under review. The Home Office is currently working towards a new financial support policy that will focus on individual victims’ needs.
In reference to your second question, there is no distinction made between victims of trafficking and modern slavery in relation to support provided by the VCC. The current VCC has been operational since 2015; providing support to individuals who have been referred to the National Referral Mechanism (NRM), have received a positive reasonable grounds decision and have consented to support. The VCC provides support through accommodation (where needed), financial support and specialist support workers.
We are aware that some individuals may have received incorrect financial support payments during their time in VCC support until 30 November 2019. Financial support payments may have been reduced as a result of them receiving alternative sources of income, in a way that was not in line with published policy or with the wording of the VCC. We are working at pace to establish who may have been affected. We will communicate further details on how we plan to rectify this issue in the coming weeks.
In reference to your third question, the data requested on how many and what proportion of people in the NRM from April 2019 to March 2020 are receiving subsistence payments does not currently form part of the published NRM statistics. The Home Office published quarterly statistics regarding the NRM which can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/national-referral-mechanism-statistics.
Asked by: Peter Kyle (Labour - Hove)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many victims of modern slavery have been moved on from their Government-funded accommodation under the Victim Care Contract since 6 August 2020.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
The Victim Care Contract (VCC) provides accommodation to adult victims of modern slavery who are referred into the National Referral Mechanism (NRM) and who have a need for safe house accommodation. The VCC provider, The Salvation Army, publishes an annual report which provides statistics for those that have exited VCC accommodation.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department has taken to provide practical support to people discovered in modern slavery rings by police sting operations.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
Police forces are designated First Responders and are trained to spot the signs of modern slavery, and on how to refer potential victims into the National Referral Mechanism (NRM); the UK’s system for identifying and supporting victims.
Support to victims of modern slavery is a devolved matter. In England and Wales, potential victims of modern slavery are supported through a mixture of mainstream support and specialist support through the Victim Care Contract delivered by The Salvation Army. In Northern Ireland, Belfast & Lisburn Women’s Aid and Migrant Help are the two specialist support providers, contracted by the Department of Justice.
In terms of the practical support on offer, potential adult victims can receive accommodation, financial support, assistance in accessing mental and physical health care including counselling, and access to legal support, compensation and protective measures in court to enable them to support the Government in prosecuting their exploiters. This support provision is replicated in Northern Ireland.
A new Modern Slavery Victim Care Contract was awarded in June for services across England and Wales. During the first year of the contract the government will work with law enforcement partners to test the set-up and operation of a new provision of Places of Safety. The service is aimed at the most vulnerable victims rescued from exploitation and will provide them with a safe place?for up to?three?working days?to consider if they want to enter?the NRM.
Asked by: Alex Norris (Labour (Co-op) - Nottingham North)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department has published details of an independent inspection framework for the Victim Care Contract for supporting survivors of slavery; and which body will be responsible for managing those inspections.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
The Home Office has worked with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) to develop an inspection framework based on CQC’s five key lines of enquiry to assess the quality of support provided to victims in England and Wales who are receiving accommodation or outreach support through the Victim Care Contract. This framework was developed with the input of support providers and the wider third sector.
In Autumn 2019, and early 2020, CQC piloted inspections based on this framework within the current Victim Care Contract and made iterative changes to the framework as a result. This framework is now complete and will be published in due course.
The inspection regime has been incorporated in the new Modern Slavery Victim Care Contract and the process to formalise the appointment of an independent inspectorate is underway.
An independent inspection regime will enable the Home Office to ensure the consistency and quality of support throughout the Modern Slavery Victim Care Contract and give victims the help and support they need to begin to rebuild their lives.
Asked by: Carolyn Harris (Labour - Swansea East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an assessment of the implications of the FCA's freezing of Wire Card for her emergency response policy on payment card freezes to ensure that future victims of trafficking are supported as part of the Victim Care Contract and able to access funds.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
The Prime Contractor of the Adult Victims of Modern Slavery support contract (AVMS), The Salvation Army, has contingency and business continuity plans in place across a range of services to ensure resilience and continued support to victims of modern slavery.
Due to issues relating to the card provider, on 26 June 2020 potential and confirmed victims of modern slavery with access to a payment card through the AVMS support contract were informed the payment cards were frozen and advised to contact their dedicated support worker if they needed emergency cash payments.
All subcontractors of the AVMS support contract were also instructed to assess their service users for those who might have needed urgent payments, so they could be contacted proactively, and provided with support and access to funds as required.
On 30 June 2020, the freeze on the payment cards was lifted and all service users were able to resume using their payment cards.
All victims of modern slavery accessing financial support through the AVMS contract are eligible to access payment cards through this service, where relevant.
Asked by: Sarah Champion (Labour - Rotherham)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to her Department's News story of 29 June 2020, New contract to deliver improved support for modern slavery victims, whether people provided with accommodation under the Victim Care Contract since the beginning of the covid-19 outbreak will be able to remain in that accommodation for another three months.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
In line with Public Health England guidance in response to COVID-19, the policy change announced on 6 April 2020 meant individuals who were accommodated in the VCC, would have continued access to this accommodation for a three-month period. The policy was reviewed at the end of June, with consideration of government wide COVID-19 advice.
The review determined that the policy will remain in place for a further period of one month from 6 July to the 6 August 2020. This is a transitional period, and from 6 August, the move on processes and periods set out in the Modern Slavery Act 2015: statutory guidance for England and Wales will resume as normal.
The Government is committed ensuring the safety and security of those supported through the modern slavery Victim Care Contract (VCC). Support workers and decision makers will continue to consider government advice, as well as the impacts of COVID-19 on the availability of services and the safety/security of individuals as part of move-on processes.
Asked by: Jess Phillips (Labour - Birmingham, Yardley)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if her Department will publish all correspondence between her Department and the contract provider for the Modern Slavery Victim Care Contract on the inclusion within that contract of support services for victims of domestic abuse with no recourse to public funds.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
All adults referred in to the National Referral Mechanism (NRM) and who are in receipt of a positive reasonable grounds decision are eligible to receive support through the Victim Care Contract (VCC) to assist with recovery from their modern slavery experience(s).
Support through the VCC is provided to meet the needs of an individual as linked to their modern slavery experience(s) and will not be provided to an individual who is not a potential or confirmed victim of modern slavery.
This support is available to all potential victims of modern slavery, irrespective of their immigration status and including individuals with no recourse to public funds.
Decisions about VCC support provision will take into account the individual’s eligibility to access other support services outside of the VCC.
The type of support received through the VCC is tailored, at each stage, according to the potential victim or confirmed victim’s needs. Support provision may include any combination of subsistence payments, support worker contact and assistance, and accommodation provision.
The Modern Slavery Act 2015: statutory guidance for England and Wales, outlines the different forms that modern slavery can take and its links with other forms of exploitation. However, this is not an exhaustive list - Modern Slavery is an umbrella term, to reflect the evolving nature of this heinous crime and we fully recognise that the guidance can apply to victims of modern slavery who are also victims of domestic abuse.
Support provided through the VCC to meet an individual’s needs related to modern slavery will always take into account wider circumstances or vulnerabilities faced. For example, in the context of a victim of modern slavery also being a victim of domestic abuse, support workers may signpost that individual to local domestic abuse services to receive specialist support or guidance.
The statutory guidance can be accessed here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/896033/July_2020_-_Statutory_Guidance_under_the_Modern_Slavery_Act_2015_v1.01.pdf
Asked by: Alex Norris (Labour (Co-op) - Nottingham North)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, for what reason Recovery Needs Assessments are being carried out during the covid-19 outbreak; and what steps she has taken to ensure people currently in support are not adversely affected by that assessment process.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
This Government is committed to stamping out modern slavery and providing victims with the support they need to rebuild their lives.
The Recovery Needs Assessment (RNA) process takes place for all confirmed victims of modern slavery who are receiving support through the Victim Care Contract (VCC) to ensure that support is tailored to their individual recovery needs. This process informs a tailored move-on plan, with the aim of establishing longer-term stability by helping victims to transition out of VCC support and back into a community, as appropriate. Where this is not possible, VCC support will continue to meet the victim’s ongoing recovery needs.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, confirmed victims who receive a positive Conclusive Grounds decision will have an RNA completed, as it is vital that we continue to facilitate the recovery of victims of modern slavery and build upon the progress that they have made whilst in the VCC to start rebuilding their lives. If, for any reason, the recovery needs of a confirmed victim change, or the confirmed victim needs support beyond the original estimated timescales, a further RNA can be completed by the support worker to reflect this.
The safety and security of those supported through the VCC is a top priority. RNAs are being conducted remotely, where appropriate, in line with advice from Public Health England. Where there is an exceptional need that requires face to face engagement to complete the assessment, support workers will facilitate this with social distancing measures in place.
We recognise at this time that other types of suitable support which could usually be accessed to meet an individual’s recovery needs, for example local authority housing, mainstream benefits, asylum support, and social services under the Care Act 2014, may have been adversely impacted by COVID-19. As part of the RNA process and when making support recommendations, support workers are considering the current availability of alternative support services. Similarly, the Home Office are considering the wider impact of COVID-19 when making RNA decisions. Where possible, arrangements for individuals to access alternative services in line with their recovery plan should still be progressed.
In addition, regardless of whether an individual’s RNA identifies a continued recovery need for accommodation support, we have taken steps to ensure that all victims currently accommodated in VCC accommodation will be able to remain where they are until at least 6 July 2020. This policy will be reviewed before the end of June in respect of the Government’s latest COVID-19 advice.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether all individuals currently in receipt of support, including outreach support, through the Victim Care Contract, will continue to receive financial and case work assistance for the duration of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
The safety and security of those supported through the modern slavery Victim Care Contract (VCC) is a top priority for government.
Potential victims within the VCC will continue to have access to support during the pandemic. We are continually reviewing how essential services can best be maintained and delivered to ensure victims receive, and have the means to access, the support they need at this time. We are providing support through virtual means as required and have introduced a new contactless payment card to ensure safe receipt of financial support.
The Recovery Needs Assessment (RNA) informs tailored move on plans to help victims transition out of the VCC and back into the community where appropriate. The assessment considers the availability of alternative, and often more sustainable, support services and victims will only begin a move on process if it is suitable for them to do so, in line with their recovery needs.
The policy change announced on 6 April mean individuals who are accommodated in the VCC, will have continued access to this accommodation until at least the 6 July 2020. The policy will be reviewed before the end of June in respect of the Government’s latest covid-19 advice. This change, alongside the existing support mechanisms within the contract will ensure that vulnerable individuals are not left without the support they need at this challenging time.