UK government modern slavery statement

The UK Government has published its Modern Slavery Statement which sets out the government’s efforts to tackle modern slavery in supply chains. The report details how in 2019 the government took steps to identify, prevent and mitigate modern slavery in government supply chains and operations culminating in guidance for ministerial government departments being published in September 2019.

The report states that all ministerial government departments will begin the annual publication of their own modern slavery statements from September 2021.

The report can be read in full here.

Source: Gov.uk

Delays in Decisions on Modern Slavery Cases

Freedom of information data published in the Independent has revealed that the number of people waiting for more than two years for a decision from the the National Referral Mechanism (NRM) has increased by 52% since June 2019. The NRM is the UK’s framework for identifying victims of modern slavery. Concerns have been raised that these delays could result in victims not receiving the necessary help and being forced back into exploitation.

The increase in wait time for a decision coincides with an increase in the number of people referred to the NRM, which has led to call for the NRM to be independent of the Home Office, or for increased investment to meet the demand.

Source: The Independent

2019 UK annual report on modern slavery

The Home Office has published the 2019 UK annual report on modern slavery. The report report provides an overview of modern slavery in the UK and explains how the UK has responded to this threat over the last 12 months.

The report can be read in full here.

Source: Gov.uk

Government response to the independent review of the Modern Slavery Act

The government has published its response to the the independent review of the Modern Slavery Act 2015. The independent review, commissioned in July 2018, considered the specific provisions in the Act, the role of the Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner, transparency in supply chains, Independent Child Trafficking Advocates and legal application of the Act.

The government response to the independent review sets out how the government intends to respond to the recommendations made by the review. Alongside the response to the independent review, the government has launched a consultation on transparency in supply chains.

Home Office to lift cap on ‘inadequate’ help for trafficking victims

The Home Office has announced that it will end the 45-day policy that limits support for victims of trafficking after finding it incompatible with international standards. Instead, the policy will be replaced by a ‘needs-based systems’ which would not be redistricted to any length of time.

This announcement comes after two victims challenged the policy in the High Court which ruled that the 45-day policy was at risk of causing harm to vulnerable individuals and potentially unlawful.

The announcement, which is hoped to end the conflict of interest between the Government’s immigration policies and its modern slavery duties, has been welcomed by lawyers, politicians, and charities. However, there is now a call for the Home Office to clearly define its plans for support.

Source: The Independent

Domestic workers face heightened slavery risk in UK, warns EU study

A study by the European Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) has found that domestic workers face a higher risk of slavery in the UK. The findings of the study have been published in the report Protecting migrant workers from exploitation in the EU: workers’ perspectives. The findings are based on interviews with 237 exploited workers.

The report focuses on the following areas:

• Pathways into severe labour exploitation
• Working and living conditions of exploited workers
• Employers’ strategies to keep workers in a condition of exploitation
• Interviewees’ perceptions of risk factors for severe labour exploitation
• Exploited workers’ access to justice

The report notes that exploitation often starts with people being given false promises and fraud. One of the key findings concerning the United Kingdom is that domestic workers are not protected by legislation that limits the hours an individual can work. This can easily lead to exploitation.

The report details how once an individual is being exploited, the person exploiting them will often use threats, violence and entrapment to keep them from getting access to help.

Source: European Agency for Fundamental Rights

Independent Review of Modern Slavery

The final Independent Review of Modern Slavery report was laid in Parliament yesterday, 22^nd May 2019. The review, which can be found here, considered specific provisions in the Modern Slavery Act 2015, the role of the Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner, transparency in supply chains, Independent Child Trafficking Advocates, and legal application of the Modern Slavery Act. The government is now considering the review’s recommendations and will respond formally in due course.

Updated Modern Slavery Victim Referral Guidance

The Government has today published their updated modern slavery victims guidance and forms. The updated forms, which reflect the changes to the referral process, can be found here.

App to Tackle Modern Slavery at Hand Car Wash Sites

The Safe Car Wash app allows users to report cases of potential modern slavery involving workers at hand car wash services by answering questions from a checklist including the price of the car wash and who takes the money. Based upon the answers the individual may be urged to make a report to the Modern Slavery helpline. It has already been used by drivers to make reports more than 900 times.

The information collected by the app is shared with the Gangmasters & Labour Abuse Authority. The app was launched by the Church of England and the Catholic Church launched in October 2017 with the support of the Prime Minister and the Archbishop of Canterbury.

Source: The Guardian

Home Office limit on support for slavery victims may be unlawful, court rules

A high court judge has ruled that a Home Office policy which stops all statutory support to victims of slavery six weeks after they have been formally identified as victims of slavery is potentially unlawful.

The judge has ordered the Home Office to extend the support to all victims until the next hearing on 14th April. This comes after campaigners and front line service providers have stated that abruptly ending support after such a short period could result in victims back under the control of traffickers and exploiters.

Source: the Guardian