Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the national referral mechanism.
Answered by Laura Farris - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Ministry of Justice) (jointly with Home Office)
The Government is focussed on improving National Referral Mechanism (NRM) decision-making timescales. We have seen an unprecedented increase in the volume of referrals in the NRM; a 625% rise between 2014 and 2022. In 2023, 17,004 potential victims of modern slavery were referred to the Home Office, the highest annual number since the NRM began in 2009. Despite this, since January 2023 the number of decisions outstanding has been coming down for the first time ever, showing that what we are doing is working.
The Government is committed to ensuring that genuine victims are identified and introduced legislation under the Nationality and Borders Act to ensure that there is a robust system which supports victims and reduces the opportunity for misuse.
The Home Office holds all policies and procedures under review to ensure they are effective in delivering the aims of the government. We continue to monitor the effectiveness of the NRM accordingly.
Asked by: Baroness Deech (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the Mayor of London concerning the location of the memorial for victims of the transatlantic slave trade.
Answered by Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
His Majesty’s Government has had no discussions with the Mayor of London concerning this matter. At the recent Budget, HM Government provided £10 million to National Museums Liverpool, to help in part with its planned expansion of the International Slavery Museum.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether he has had discussions with the Northern Ireland Minister for Justice on tackling female (a) trafficking, (b) exploitation and (c) sexual exploitation in Northern Ireland.
Answered by Laura Farris - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Ministry of Justice) (jointly with Home Office)
Criminal justice is devolved in Northern Ireland, with responsibility for the policy and legislative response to modern slavery resting with the Northern Ireland Executive. However, we recognise that trafficking can involve the movement of vulnerable individuals across borders, and we work closely with our partners in the Northern Ireland Executive to ensure that our response to modern slavery across the UK is joined-up and the legislation is complementary.
This includes, at official level, regular engagement with representatives from the Devolved Administrations, through quarterly meetings and the Modern Slavery Engagement Forums. These Forums focus on key policy areas, including enforcement, prevention, adult victim support, and child and victim support policy. Officials also engage in quarterly meetings with representatives on commercial sexual exploitation.
The Home Office also engages with First Responder Organisations, across the whole of the United Kingdom. In Northern Ireland this includes the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI), Health and Social Care trusts and Belfast and Lisburn Women’s Aid. First Responders are trained by their respective organisations to identify indicators of modern slavery and refer potential victims into the National Referral Mechanism (NRM). In 2023, there were 462 NRM referrals sent to the PSNI for investigation, accounting for 3% of all referrals received, as published in the National Referral Mechanism statistics on GOV.UK.
Asked by: Olivia Blake (Labour - Sheffield, Hallam)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of sections 22-29 of the Illegal Migration Act 2023 on victims of modern slavery receiving support via the National Referral Mechanism.
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: 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: Stephen Timms (Labour - East Ham)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people received housing support at the shared accommodation rate in each of the last five years.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The information requested is not readily available for Universal Credit, and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost. However, data on households on Housing Benefits entitled to the Shared Accommodation Rate is published and available here.
Guidance for users is available here.
Evidence relating to Shared Accommodation Rate (SAR) rates was considered as part of the Local Housing Allowance (LHA) review last Autumn. This led to the significant investment of £1.2 billion increasing LHA rates to the 30th percentile of local market rents. This means 1.6 million private renters will receive additional help towards their rental costs in 2024/25.
There are exemptions from the SAR for those who find it difficult to share accommodation, such as care leavers, victims of modern slavery and domestic abuse and people who have been homeless and living in a hostel for over 3 months. There is also an exemption in certain circumstances on the grounds of disability. Exempt claimants can claim the higher one-bedroom LHA rate.
For individuals who may require additional support, Discretionary Housing Payments (DHP) are available. DHP payments are entirely at the discretion of the local authority and since 2011 the Government has provided nearly £1.7 billion to local authorities.
Asked by: Stephen Timms (Labour - East Ham)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of the level of housing support provided through the shared accommodation rate.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Evidence relating to Shared Accommodation Rate (SAR) rates was considered as part of the LHA review last Autumn. This led to the significant investment of £1.2 billion increasing Local Housing Allowance (LHA) rates to the 30th percentile of local market rents. This means 1.6 million private renters will receive additional help towards their rental costs in 2024/25.
There are exemptions from the SAR for those who find it difficult to share accommodation, such as care leavers, victims of modern slavery and domestic abuse and people who have been homeless and living in a hostel for over 3 months. There is also an exemption in certain circumstances on the grounds of disability. Exempt claimants can claim the higher one-bedroom LHA rate.
For individuals who may require additional support, Discretionary Housing Payments (DHP) are available. DHP payments are entirely at the discretion of the local authority and since 2011 the Government has provided nearly £1.7 billion to local authorities.
Asked by: Olivia Blake (Labour - Sheffield, Hallam)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether his Department has made an estimate of the number of people under the age of 18 who have been referred into the national referral mechanism since July 2023 and who would be eligible to have their modern slavery support removed once they reach the age of 18 were sections 22 to 29 of the Illegal Migration Act 2023 enacted.
Answered by Laura Farris - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Ministry of Justice) (jointly with Home Office)
The modern slavery provisions in the Illegal Migration Act 2023 (“the 2023 Act”) address the serious and immediate threat to public order arising from the exceptional circumstances around illegal entry into the UK.
The Public Order Disqualification in the National Referral Mechanism (NRM) was included in section 63 of the Nationality and Borders Act 2022. Section 29 of the 2023 Act amends section 63 of the Nationality and Borders Act, expanding the cohort of individuals to whom the Public Order Disqualification applies. The 2023 Act also introduces, in sections 22-28, disqualifications from the NRM for those who are subject to the duty in section 2 of that Act, unless certain specific exemptions apply.
The Government is working on developing guidance regarding the operation of these measures which will be published when the provisions are implemented.
The published Illegal Migration Bill Impact Assessment sets out the monetised and non-monetised impacts of the legislation. The Impact Assessment did not produce monetised estimates of the number of individuals who would be in scope to have their support removed if sections 22 to 29 of the Illegal Migration Act 2023 were enacted. As such, it did not produce monetised estimates for: potential victims of slavery supported under the Modern Slavery Victim Care Contract; individuals under the age of 18 who have been referred into the NRM since July 2023; or potential victims referred into the NRM. The Home Office is monitoring and evaluating the 2023 Act to monitor whether the measures introduced are meeting the objectives set and to provide insight on the process, impact and value for money of changes implemented.
Asked by: Olivia Blake (Labour - Sheffield, Hallam)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether his Department has made an estimate of the number of potential victims of slavery supported under the Modern Slavery Victim Care Contract that would be in scope to have their support removed were sections 22 to 29 of the Illegal Migration Act 2023 enacted.
Answered by Laura Farris - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Ministry of Justice) (jointly with Home Office)
The modern slavery provisions in the Illegal Migration Act 2023 (“the 2023 Act”) address the serious and immediate threat to public order arising from the exceptional circumstances around illegal entry into the UK.
The Public Order Disqualification in the National Referral Mechanism (NRM) was included in section 63 of the Nationality and Borders Act 2022. Section 29 of the 2023 Act amends section 63 of the Nationality and Borders Act, expanding the cohort of individuals to whom the Public Order Disqualification applies. The 2023 Act also introduces, in sections 22-28, disqualifications from the NRM for those who are subject to the duty in section 2 of that Act, unless certain specific exemptions apply.
The Government is working on developing guidance regarding the operation of these measures which will be published when the provisions are implemented.
The published Illegal Migration Bill Impact Assessment sets out the monetised and non-monetised impacts of the legislation. The Impact Assessment did not produce monetised estimates of the number of individuals who would be in scope to have their support removed if sections 22 to 29 of the Illegal Migration Act 2023 were enacted. As such, it did not produce monetised estimates for: potential victims of slavery supported under the Modern Slavery Victim Care Contract; individuals under the age of 18 who have been referred into the NRM since July 2023; or potential victims referred into the NRM. The Home Office is monitoring and evaluating the 2023 Act to monitor whether the measures introduced are meeting the objectives set and to provide insight on the process, impact and value for money of changes implemented.
Asked by: Olivia Blake (Labour - Sheffield, Hallam)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether the extant Public Order Disqualifications (POD) for potential victims of modern slavery in cases where there is an immediate and real risk of re-trafficking will apply to those expected to receive PODs under the Illegal Migration Act 2023.
Answered by Laura Farris - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Ministry of Justice) (jointly with Home Office)
The modern slavery provisions in the Illegal Migration Act 2023 (“the 2023 Act”) address the serious and immediate threat to public order arising from the exceptional circumstances around illegal entry into the UK.
The Public Order Disqualification in the National Referral Mechanism (NRM) was included in section 63 of the Nationality and Borders Act 2022. Section 29 of the 2023 Act amends section 63 of the Nationality and Borders Act, expanding the cohort of individuals to whom the Public Order Disqualification applies. The 2023 Act also introduces, in sections 22-28, disqualifications from the NRM for those who are subject to the duty in section 2 of that Act, unless certain specific exemptions apply.
The Government is working on developing guidance regarding the operation of these measures which will be published when the provisions are implemented.
The published Illegal Migration Bill Impact Assessment sets out the monetised and non-monetised impacts of the legislation. The Impact Assessment did not produce monetised estimates of the number of individuals who would be in scope to have their support removed if sections 22 to 29 of the Illegal Migration Act 2023 were enacted. As such, it did not produce monetised estimates for: potential victims of slavery supported under the Modern Slavery Victim Care Contract; individuals under the age of 18 who have been referred into the NRM since July 2023; or potential victims referred into the NRM. The Home Office is monitoring and evaluating the 2023 Act to monitor whether the measures introduced are meeting the objectives set and to provide insight on the process, impact and value for money of changes implemented.