Corporate report

2018 UK annual report on modern slavery (accessible version)

Published 18 October 2018

This was published under the 2016 to 2019 May Conservative government

October 2018

Home Secretary Foreword

Last year sickening images of young men being sold at slave markets in Libya shocked the world. These men’s lives were bought for a few hundred pounds, making clear that the vile trade in humans has not been consigned to the history books.

Slavery remains a reality in the modern world. This abhorrent crime takes place across the globe and behind closed doors. It is happening here in the UK.

Children, men and women are being exploited in our towns, communities and businesses every day. The victims are hidden from view, and many people may never know this cruel practice is taking place on their streets and under their noses.

The impact is huge, both on human lives and our economy, with estimates putting its cost to the UK at as much as £4.3 billion in 2016/17.

Since becoming Home Secretary, I have been appalled by the scale and savagery of this crime. Ending modern slavery is one of this Government’s top priorities, and I know it remains of paramount importance to the Prime Minister.

This Annual Report details the actions that the UK Government, the Scottish Government and the Northern Ireland Executive have taken over the last year to tackle modern slavery and human trafficking.

• We are doing more than ever to catch and convict offenders. The UK is transforming the law enforcement and criminal justice response to these crimes, with 130 defendants prosecuted under the Modern Slavery Act 2015 in 2017, more than double that of the previous year.
• We are significantly increasing support for identified victims, particularly children. Independent Child Trafficking Advocates are being rolled out across the UK to ensure vulnerable children have the support they need.
• We are driving industry action. Thanks to our world leading legislation, thousands of businesses have published modern slavery statements and companies have changed practices that were driving demand for modern slavery.

Slavery is a truly global issue that crosses borders. As such, we recognise that only a truly global response will succeed in tackling it, and the UK continues to be a world leader in the fight to end this appalling crime.

The Prime Minister was clear about the level of the UK’s ambition when she launched the Call to Action to End Forced Labour, Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking at last year’s UN General Assembly. One year on, and with over 80 endorsements, the Call to Action has spurred on domestic and global action. This year’s UN General Assembly saw further commitments, including the launch of four Principles to eliminate slavery from global supply chains.

Since becoming Home Secretary, I have chaired meetings with my counterparts from the Western Balkans, and the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, where we pledged to step up our cooperation to stamp out this vicious scourge.

Closer to home, the UK remains unconditionally committed to maintaining European security, now and after our exit from the EU. As we prepare to leave the EU, the Government wants to continue to build upon our strong relationships with our European partners, and to work together to tackle the slave trade.

We are transforming the response to tackling this vile crime both in the UK and internationally, under- pinned by our world-leading Modern Slavery Act. But we are not complacent, and while modern slavery exists we know more must be done.

As our understanding of this evolving crime grows it is vital that we continue to work together to respond. New forms of exploitation are being identified and we need to tackle these, including by overseeing a step-change in businesses’ efforts to end slavery in their supply chains.

The final chapter of this report sets out the next steps we will take to eradicate this crime, including an independent review of the landmark Modern Slavery Act 2015 to ensure our world-first legislation keeps pace with the evolving threat. I have asked the review team to produce a final report by the end of March 2019 and their recommendations will help shape our future response.

I will not sit back and let human beings be sold or exploited anywhere in the modern world. While the cruel and inhuman reality of modern slavery continues to exist I will, together with my department and this Government, continue to do all I can to confront it and protect those most at risk.

Rt Hon Sajid Javid MP

Home Secretary

Executive Summary

Introduction

This 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.

Total direct Government spend on modern slavery has increased year-on-year, estimated at around £39 million in 2017/18 and £61 million in 2018/19^{[footnote 1]}. The growth in spending is largely driven by an increase in the UK’s international activity, using Official Development Assistance (ODA) funding.

These spending figures also include the costs of: the adult Victim Care Contract; running the National Referral Mechanism (NRM) decision-making process; reforms to the NRM; the Modern Slavery Unit in the Home Office; the Independent Anti- Slavery Commissioner’s budget; the Independent Child Trafficking Advocates in early adopter sites; the Child Trafficking Protection Fund; and the Police Transformation Funding dedicated to modern slavery.

Assessment of Modern Slavery in the UK

Improving the evidence about the scale and nature of modern slavery is a priority for the UK Government. Traditional means of measuring crime (victimisation surveys or police records) are less effective at measuring the prevalence of this complex and largely hidden crime whose victims are often too traumatised to report their exploitation, or do not self-identify as victims.

The most robust estimate to date of the scale of modern slavery in the UK was produced by the Home Office in 2014. The estimate suggested that there were between 10,000 and 13,000 potential victims of modern slavery in the UK in 2013. The National Crime Agency (NCA) assesses that the actual scale of modern slavery in the UK is gradually increasing and, if drivers remain at their current levels, will continue to do so over the next three years.

The three main sources of data available on the potential scale of modern slavery in the UK come from:

• Referrals of potential victims^{[footnote 2]} to the National Referral Mechanism (NRM), the UK’s identification and support system for victims of modern slavery. In 2017, there were 5,143 potential victims referred to the NRM (a 35% increase from 2016), of whom 41% (2,121) were children.^{[footnote 3]}
• Referrals of potential victims under the ‘duty to notify’ provision of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 which applies to England and Wales. Specified public bodies have a duty to notify the Government if they encounter an adult victim of modern slavery. In 2017, 1,694 potential adult victims were referred via duty to notify, bringing the total number of potential victims identified in 2017 to 6,837.
• The number of modern slavery crimes recorded by the police. In the year to March 2018, police in England and Wales recorded 3,337 modern slavery offences, a 49% increase on the previous year. Police Scotland recorded 60 offences and the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) recorded 31 offences.

The UK’s Existing Response

The UK Government published a Modern Slavery Strategy in 2014, based on the ‘four Ps’ structure, which the Home Office also uses to tackle terrorism and serious and organised crime.

• Pursue: Prosecuting and disrupting individuals and groups responsible for modern slavery.
• Prevent: Preventing people from engaging in modern slavery.
• Protect: Strengthening safeguards against modern slavery by protecting vulnerable people from exploitation and increasing awareness of and resilience against this crime.
• Prepare: Reducing the harm caused by modern slavery through improved victim identification and enhanced support.

The Strategy also commits the Government to step up its international response to modern slavery.

The Scottish Government and the Northern Ireland Executive use a different strategic framework to organise their work. For the reader’s convenience, this report groups actions by all jurisdictions under the ‘four Ps’ structure.

Pursue

• There has been a continued uplift in operational activity to tackle modern slavery, involving a range of law enforcement agencies. In 2017, 130 defendants were prosecuted under the Modern Slavery Act 2015 (on a principal offence basis); compared to 51 defendants prosecuted under the Act in 2016.
• Project AIDANT, the National Crime Agency (NCA)-led collaborative modern slavery operations, targeted high risk source countries or types of exploitation. The operations brought together resources from the NCA, Border Force, Immigration Enforcement, Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC), the Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority (GLAA) and UK police forces to deliver intensified operational activity focused on specific thematic areas. During Project AIDANT activity in 2017, over 320 offenders were arrested and over 560 potential victims of trafficking identified.
• Through the Modern Slavery Police Transformation Programme and in chairing the multi-agency National Threat Group, Chief Constable Shaun Sawyer has overseen a steep uplift in police investigations. In July 2018, there were 850 active police investigations, compared with 188 in in November 2016. At a national level, there is a richer understanding of the nature of these crimes and more joint investigations taking place with other countries than ever before.
• The GLAA has made good progress utilising Police and Criminal Evidence (PACE) powers to investigate serious cases of labour exploitation in the first year of operation. In 2017/18, the GLAA conducted over 100 operations, with more than 80 of those across sectors outside of the traditional agricultural sector. As a result, the GLAA arrested over 100 people for suspected labour market offences.
• Police Scotland continued to support the Scottish Government’s Human Trafficking and Exploitation Strategy, and in June 2018 the Government published its first annual progress report on implementation. The report also includes Scottish data against a range of key measures of progress.^{[footnote 4]}
• The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) made use of the full range of local, national and international tactics to identify suspects and victims and to disrupt organised crime groups involved in human exploitation.

Prevent

• During 2018, the UK Government continued to develop the evidence base on modern slavery to inform prevention activity and Annex A to this report sets out Government’s research priorities on modern slavery.
• Across the UK, communications campaigns have raised awareness of the crime of modern slavery. The campaigns have provided information to the public and frontline professionals about how to spot signs of modern slavery and report concerns.

Protect

• Under Section 54 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015, large businesses in the UK must publish an annual statement setting out the steps they are taking to identify, tackle and prevent modern slavery in their business and supply chains.
• In 2018, there have been increasing examples of best practices including companies implementing the ‘Employer Pays’ principle to prevent worker-paid recruitment fees which can contribute to debt bondage.
• There have been more sector-led initiatives to tackle exploitation in supply chains. For example, ‘Tech Against Trafficking’ brings the tech sector together with Non- Governmental Organisations (NGOs) and academics to examine how technology solutions can be used to fight modern slavery.
• Members of the Business Against Slavery Forum are working together to support survivors of slavery rebuild their lives through initiatives such as Co-op’s Bright Future programme, giving survivors a path to employment and HSBC’s survivor bank accounts.
• At the UN General Assembly this year, the UK, US, Canada, New Zealand and Australia launched a set of Principles for governments across the globe to endorse and use as a framework for tackling modern slavery in global supply chains.

Prepare

• The UK Government continued to provide specialist support and advocacy services for victims of modern slavery and human trafficking, to assist them in rebuilding their lives and reintegrating into local communities.
• Over the last 12 months, the UK Government and its delivery partners have made good progress to ensure that an ambitious package of reforms to the NRM will be delivered by April 2020. These reforms will make a tangible difference to the experience of victims of modern slavery by supporting their recovery and resilience to future exploitation.
• £2 million has been committed to extend the support provided by Independent Child Trafficking Advocates (ICTAs) so that one third of local authorities in England and Wales can ensure vulnerable children get the help they need.
• The UK Government has provided £2.2 million funding to test innovative ways to protect vulnerable children in the UK and overseas who are at risk of trafficking.
• Over £1 million from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government’s Controlling Migration Fund has been distributed to six local authorities to test how best to support victims as they exit NRM services and move into local communities.
• In April 2018, the Scottish Government doubled the minimum period of support for victims to 90 days.
• In Northern Ireland, an Independent Guardian Service became operational in April 2018. Independent Guardians are trained adults who must act in the best interests of child victims.
• Approximately 1,000 training places have been made available in England and Wales for foster carers and support workers caring for Unaccompanied Asylum-Seeking Children (UASC), so that they are better equipped to support victims and reduce the risk of re-trafficking.

International:

• The UK Government continued to work with a range of partners to strengthen cooperation with those countries from where the UK receives the highest numbers of victims. The UK has also pushed for change on a global scale by working with other countries and multilateral fora such as the G7, G20, Commonwealth and UN.
• The UK Government has deployed its diplomatic network and official development assistance to build political will and partnerships to combat modern slavery abroad. In 2018, key projects included targeted awareness-raising campaigns in source countries, building the capacity of overseas law enforcement, and an international conference with fifteen countries on how to increase prosecutions. Key multilateral achievements have included commitments to enhance the response to modern slavery with Western Balkan countries, G7, G20 and Commonwealth countries. At the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in April, the UK announced £5.5 million to support Commonwealth countries in tackling this issue.
• Over the last 12 months, the UK’s multilateral engagement has been shaped by the Call to Action to End Forced Labour, Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking, launched by the Prime Minister in September 2017. The Call to Action now has over 80 endorsements and positive progress has been made by countries on implementation. This progress was showcased at the UN General Assembly in September 2018 during an event hosted by the Secretary of State for International Development, where Ministers from the US, Australia, Canada, Bangladesh, Nigeria, Argentina and Bahrain outlined the steps they have taken to improve their own responses to modern slavery.

In July, the Government announced an independent review of its landmark Modern Slavery Act 2015 to ensure the UK’s world-first legislation keeps in step with this evolving crime. The review team will identify where the Act is working well and whether specific areas of the Act need to be strengthened. The review team will report its findings in March 2019.

This Annual Report has been agreed by representatives of the UK Government, the Northern Ireland Executive, the Scottish Government and the Welsh Government.

Chapter 1: Assessment of modern slavery in the UK

1.01 Improving evidence about the scale and nature of modern slavery is a priority for the UK Government. Traditional means of measuring crime (victimisation surveys or police records) are less effective at measuring the prevalence of this complex and largely hidden crime whose victims are often too traumatised to report their exploitation, or do not self-identify as victims.

1.02 The most robust estimate to date of the scale of modern slavery in the UK was produced by the Home Office in 2014, which suggested that there were between 10,000 and 13,000 potential victims of modern slavery in the UK in 2013. The National Crime Agency (NCA) assesses that the actual scale of modern slavery in the UK is gradually increasing and, if drivers remain at their current levels, will continue to do so over the next three years.

1.03 The three main sources of data available on the potential scale of modern slavery in the UK come from:

• Referrals of potential victims^{[footnote 5]} to the National Referral Mechanism (NRM), the UK’s identification and support system for victims of modern slavery;
• Referrals of potential victims under the ‘duty to notify’ provision of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 which applies to England and Wales. Specified public bodies have a duty to notify the Government if they encounter an adult victim of modern slavery. This information helps to build a more accurate picture of the scale of modern slavery. Similar provisions will shortly be in place in Scotland. In Northern Ireland, duty to notify provisions cannot be fully implemented in the absence of ministers;
• The number of modern slavery crimes recorded by the police.

1.04 These sources cannot provide a wholly reliable assessment of the actual prevalence of modern slavery, but they offer approximations for how the prevalence and reporting of modern slavery may be shifting over time.

1.05 In addition to these sources of data, law enforcement agencies use intelligence to understand the threat to the UK from modern slavery. The NCA assesses that the scale of modern slavery in the UK has continued to increase over the past year.

National Referral Mechanism Data

1.06 Under the current NRM process, potential victims of modern slavery are referred by first responders to one of two ‘competent authorities’ who consider whether an individual is a victim of modern slavery^{[footnote 6]}. First responders include a number of public bodies and specified NGOs.

1.07 The two competent authorities that make decisions about whether referred individuals are victims of modern slavery are the NCA’s Modern Slavery Human Trafficking Unit (NCA MSHTU), which handles cases of people from the European Economic Area (EEA), and UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) in the Home Office, which handles non-EEA national cases.

1.08 Initially the relevant competent authority makes a reasonable grounds decision, which assesses whether the competent authority ‘suspects but cannot prove’ that the person is a victim of modern slavery. If an adult individual receives a positive reasonable grounds decision they become entitled to state-funded support.^{[footnote 7]} Local authorities have responsibilities to support child victims of modern slavery under existing statutory child protection arrangements.

1.09 The competent authority then collects further evidence about the case in order to make a conclusive grounds decision, which assesses whether ‘it is more likely than not’ that the person is a victim of modern slavery.

1.10 In 2017, 5,143 potential victims were referred to the NRM, a 35% increase from 2016 (3,804). The 5,143 referrals comprised 2,454 females (47%) and 2,686 males (52%), with 3 (<1%) recorded as transgender. The majority of potential victims (3,022; 59%) reported that they were exploited as an adult and 2,121 (41%) were referred for exploitation as a child.

1.11 Not all individuals referred to the NRM will ultimately be assessed to be victims of modern slavery. As of 12 July 2018, the decision outcomes for the 5,143 potential victims who were referred to the NRM in 2017 were as follows:

• 19% (977) received a negative reasonable grounds decision (or had their application suspended or withdrawn from the process at that stage for other reasons);
• 8% (406) received a positive reasonable grounds decision followed by a negative conclusive grounds decision (or had their application suspended or withdrawn from the process at that stage for other reasons);
• 17% (883) received a positive reasonable grounds decision followed by a positive conclusive grounds decision;
• 53% (2,726) received a positive reasonable grounds decision and were awaiting a conclusive grounds decision; and
• 3% (151) were awaiting a reasonable grounds decision.

1.12 The number of NRM referrals has increased every year since the NRM was introduced in 2009 (see Figure 1). The increase in NRM referrals is likely to be indicative of greater awareness of the NRM and improved law enforcement activity, although a higher incidence rate cannot be ruled out.

Figure 1: Number of potential victims referred to NRM, 2013 – 2017

Year	Number of NRM referrals
2013	1746
2014	2338
2015	3262
2016	3804
2017	5143

Country Breakdown

1.13 The NRM operates across the UK and first responders from England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales can refer potential victims for support. In previous years NRM data was recorded to reflect the location of the first responder, not necessarily the location of the potential victim, or their claimed exploitation.

1.14 In 2017, the method of collation was changed to reflect the location of the police force who received the NRM referral for crime recording purposes. This was the result of the July 2016 clarification and subsequent update in July 2017 within the Home Office Counting Rules (HOCR) for recorded crime, whereby:

“all referrals made by the police into the NRM……. and all those that the police receive from the NRM with a positive reasonable grounds decision applied must be subject of a recorded crime of MS (modern slavery)”

1.15 The criteria used by the NCA Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking Unit (MSHTU) to identify the appropriate force for crime recording is:

The force has acted as first responder, or the referral indicates that the force is already involved in the recording/investigation of the potential modern slavery human trafficking (MSHT) offences;

or

The potential victim has been exploited within  the force area;

or

The potential victim has been exploited abroad, or at an unknown location and the victim’s address at time of referral is within the force area;

or

The potential victim has been exploited abroad or at an unknown location and they have presented to another first responder within the force area.

1.16 For the above reasons, Table 1 shows both the location of the first responder for ease of comparison, as well as the total for the revised method of recording in 2017. The percentage breakdown remains relatively stable year-on-year.

Table 1: NRM Referrals by UK Country in 2015, 2016 and 2017

	By Location of First Responder: 2015	By Location of First Responder: % of total 2015	By Location of First Responder: 2016	By Location of First Responder: % of total 2016	By Location of First Responder: 2017	By Location of First Responder: % of total 2017	By Location of Police Force recording crime: 2017	By Location of Police Force recording crime: % of total 2017
England	2,931	90%	3,492	92%	4,713	91%	4,711	91%
Northern Ireland	53	2%	33	1%	28	0.60%	31	0.60%
Scotland	145	4%	152	4%	208	4%	207	4%
Wales	133	4%	127	3%	194	4%	194	4%
Total	3,262		3,804		5,143		5,143

Regional Breakdown

1.17 To correspond with the new recording methodology for the NRM, the regional breakdown has also changed to reflect the police force where the NRM referral was sent for crime recording purposes.

1.18 The National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) London region received the highest number of referrals for crime recording purposes. The UKVI Asylum Screening Unit in Croydon is the first responder responsible for over 55% of referrals to the region, with many potential victims claiming exploitation abroad. Under the attribution criteria detailed above, these referrals are sent to the Metropolitan Police Service for crime recording purposes.

Table 2: NPCC region/country of presentation of potential victims referred to the NRM in 2015, 2016 and 2017, and by crime recording region 2017

National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) Region	Year of Presentation: 2015	Year of Presentation: 2016	Year of Presentation: 2017	Crime Recording: 2017
East Midlands	85	94	190	253
Eastern	217	259	488	529
France	3	1	1	0
London	1,091	1,509	1,862	1,625
North East	373	422	492	485
North West	303	350	442	446
Northern Ireland	52	35	29	31
Not Recorded	229	3	0	0
Scotland	144	148	212	207
South East	225	338	505	562
South West	60	111	188	221
Wales	117	109	167	194
West Midlands	363	425	567	590
Total	3,262	3,804	5,143	5,143

1.19 The location of claimed exploitation of potential victims referred to the NRM in 2017 was unknown in a high proportion of cases (1,754; 34%). In addition, during 2017, nearly one third (1,601; 31%) of potential victims referred to the NRM reported that they had been exploited overseas, with no UK nexus.

Table 3: Region/country of claimed exploitation of potential victims referred to NRM in 2015, 2016 and 2017

Region/Country of claimed exploitation	2015	2016	2017
At sea	1	0	0
East Midlands	25	41	100
Eastern	76	66	122
London	253	322	440
Multiple	117	104	184
North East	148	197	191
North West	116	121	150
Northern Ireland	37	19	20
Not Recorded	1,338	1,490	1,754
Overseas	848	1,038	1,601
Scotland	39	61	66
South East	48	74	136
South West	32	45	94
Wales	23	28	70
West Midlands	161	198	215
Total	3,262	3,804	5,143

Exploitation Type

1.20 In 2017, among potential adult victims, the most common reported exploitation type was labour exploitation (44%) followed by sexual exploitation (39%). Among potential child victims, the most common reported exploitation type was also labour exploitation (48%), followed by sexual exploitation (27%). This pattern was broadly similar to 2015 and 2016.

Table 4: Reported exploitation type of potential victims referred to the NRM in 2015, 2016 and 2017

Cited Exploitation Type	Exploited as Adult/Child	2015	2016	2017
Domestic Servitude	Adult	362	325	367
	Child	73	104	119
Domestic Servitude Total		435	429	486
Labour Exploitation	Adult	935	1,132	1,326
	Child	318	474	1,026
Labour Exploitation Total		1,253	1,606	2,352
Organ Harvesting[footnote 8]	Adult	2	1	3
	Child	3	0	0
Organ Harvesting Total		5	1	3
Sexual Exploitation	Adult	880	942	1,182
	Child	232	363	564
Sexual Exploitation Total		1,112	1,305	1,746
Unknown Exploitation	Adult	102	123	144
	Child	355	340	412
Unknown Exploitation Total		457	463	556
Annual Total		3,262	3,804	5,143

1.21 The NRM records victims of forced criminality under the labour exploitation category. In 2017, 822 (16%) of all referrals were recorded as forced criminality. Of these referrals, 518 (63%) concerned exploitation as a child and 304 (37%) concerned exploitation as an adult.

Figure 2: Reported Exploitation Type of potential victims referred to NRM in 2017, by age at referral^{[footnote 9]}

Exploitation type	Number of NRM referrals: adult	Number of NRM referrals: minor	Total
Labour exploitation	1326	1026	2,352
Sexual exploitation	1182	564	1,746
Unknown exploitation	144	412	556
Domestic servitude	119	367	486
Organ harvesting	3	-	3

Countries of Origin

1.22 In 2017, potential victims of modern slavery were reported to originate from 116 countries. The most common country of origin reported for adult potential victims was Albania (19%) and for those exploited as children was the UK (32%).

Figure 3: 10 most common countries of origin of all potential victims referred to NRM in 2017

Country	Total number of NRM referrals
United Kingdom	819
Albania	776
Vietnam	738
China	293
Nigeria	264
Romania	259
Sudan	237
Eritrea	189
India	140
Poland	102

1.23 In 2017, the UK was the most common country of origin overall, up from third in 2016. In 2017, referrals regarding UK nationals increased 151% on the previous year (from 326 to 819).

1.24 Other common countries of origin included China, which was the fourth most common country of origin overall, up from fifth in 2016. It was followed by Nigeria, which was the fifth most common, and has moved down from fourth position in 2016. Eritrea now features in the top ten, replacing Afghanistan.

Figure 4: 10 most common countries of origin of adult potential victims referred to NRM in 2017

Country of origin	Female	Male	Total
Albania	487	79	566
Vietnam	112	264	376
China	149	122	271
Nigeria	190	32	222
Romania	76	145	221
United Kingdom	58	82	140
India	55	78	133
Pakistan	46	42	88
Poland	13	75	88
Sudan	3	77	80

Figure 5: 10 most common countries of origin of child potential victims referred to NRM in 2017

Country of origin	Female	Male	Total
United Kingdom	378	301	679
Vietnam	118	244	362
Albania	43	167	210
Sudan	3	154	157
Eritrea	34	96	130
Afghanistan	1	55	56
Iraq	7	39	46
Nigeria	24	18	42
Ethiopia	13	28	41
Iran	5	36	41

1.25 England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales continue to show a difference in the top three countries of origin for potential victims referred to the NRM. However, within each UK country the top three countries of origin of potential victims remained broadly similar between 2015 and 2017.

Table 5: Three most common countries of origin of potential victims referred to NRM in 2015 in each UK country by location of first responder

		England	Northern Ireland	Scotland	Wales
	1	Albania (584)	Bulgaria (17)	Vietnam (31)	Sudan (24)
	2	Vietnam (428)	China (6)	China (23)	Vietnam (17)
	3	Nigeria (230)	=Hungary (5), United Kingdom (5)	Nigeria (18)	Eritrea (13)

Table 6: Three most common countries of origin of potential victims referred to NRM in 2016 in each UK country by location of first responder               

	England	Northern Ireland	Scotland	Wales
1	Albania (676)	Romania (10)	Vietnam (51)	Vietnam (16)
2	Vietnam (450)	China (5)	China (30)	Eritrea (12)
3	United Kingdom (315)	Lithuania (3)	Albania (13)	Nigeria (12)

Table 7: Three most common countries of origin of potential victims referred to NRM in 2017 in each UK country by crime recording location

	England	Northern Ireland	Scotland	Wales
1	United Kingdom (754)	Romania (6)	Vietnam (89)	United Kingdom (59)
2	Albania (746)	Lithuania (4)	China (32)	Albania (22)
3	Vietnam (629)	China (4)	Romania (10)	Vietnam (17)

First Responders

1.26 A specified list of first responder organisations can refer potential victims into the NRM. This list includes specialist Non- Governmental Organisations (NGOs) and public bodies such as the National Crime Agency and the police, the Home Office^{[footnote 10]}, the Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority (GLAA) and local authorities. As in previous years, the largest proportion of NRM referrals in 2017 were made by Home Office UKVI (1,970; 38%), predominantly made as part of an asylum claim.

Table 8: Number of potential victims referred to NRM in 2017 by first responder organisations

First Responder Organisation	Total Referrals	% of total referrals
Home Office UKVI	1,970	38%
Home Office Immigration Enforcement (HOIE)	124	2%
Border Force	140	3%
Police / NCA	1,393	27%
GLAA	22	>0.5%
NGOs	705	14%
Local Authorities	789	15%
Total	5,143

Competent Authorities

1.27 Two competent authorities currently make decisions about whether referred individuals are victims of modern slavery (NCA MSHTU and UKVI).

1.28 Of the 5,143 referrals in 2017, UKVI dealt with 3,690 (72%) cases and the MSHTU dealt with 1,448 (28%) cases. A further five cases were handled through the NRM pilot process.^{[footnote 11]}

1.29 As outlined above, in 2017, 78% (4,015) of cases referred to the NRM received a positive reasonable grounds decision. The table below sets out a breakdown of the reasonable grounds decisions made, as of 12 July 2018.

Table 9: NRM reasonable grounds decision outcomes in 2017, as of 12 July 2018

Reasonable Grounds Decisions

Positive	Negative	Pending	Suspended	Withdrawn	Total
4,015	871	151	13	93	5,143

1.30 Subsequently, 22% (883) of those who received a positive reasonable grounds decision received a positive conclusive grounds decision. The table below sets out a breakdown of the conclusive grounds decisions made, as of 12 July 2018.

Table 10: NRM conclusive grounds decision outcomes in 2017, as of 12 July 2018

Conclusive Grounds Decisions

Positive	Negative	Pending	Suspended	Withdrawn	Total
883	341	2,726	28	37	4,015

Data Relating to Exploitation as a Child

1.31 Of the 2,121 cases referred for exploitation as a child, 1,308 (62%) were male and 813 (38%) were female. The table below shows a breakdown of referrals to the NRM of minors by nationality, gender and claimed exploitation type.

Table 11: NRM referrals of children by nationality, gender and exploitation type in 2017

Country of Nationality	Domestic Servitude		Labour Exploitation		Sexual Exploitation		Unknown Exploitation		Total
	F	M	F	M	F	M	F	M
Afghanistan	0	6	0	21	1	9	0	19	56
Albania	0	2	2	141	25	3	16	21	210
Algeria	0	0	0	4	0	0	0	0	4
Angola	0	0	0	1	1	2	0	0	4
Bangladesh	3	3	0	4	0	1	1	3	15
Belgium	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	1	2
Brazil	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	1
Bulgaria	2	0	1	1	7	0	3	1	15
Burkina Faso	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1
Burma / Myanmar	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	1
Cameroon	0	1	0	1	0	1	0	0	3
Chad	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	1
Chile	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	1
China	0	0	2	12	0	1	2	5	22
Congo	0	1	0	0	1	0	1	0	3
Croatia	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	1
Czech Republic	1	0	1	3	4	0	1	0	10
Democratic Republic of the Congo	3	2	0	2	6	0	4	1	18
Ecuador	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	1
Egypt	0	0	0	3	0	0	0	3	6
Eritrea	12	5	4	67	10	0	8	24	130
Ethiopia	7	0	1	21	2	0	3	7	41
Gambia	1	0	1	1	0	0	0	0	3
Germany	0	0	1	1	0	0	3	1	6
Ghana	3	0	0	0	2	0	1	1	7
Guinea	0	0	0	0	1	1	1	0	3
Guinea / Portugal	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	1
Guinea Bissau	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	1	2
Hungary	1	0	0	0	4	0	0	0	5
India	0	0	0	5	0	1	1	0	7
Iran	0	2	0	15	5	4	0	15	41
Iraq	0	2	2	19	3	2	2	16	46
Ireland	0	0	0	1	1	0	0	0	2
Italy	0	0	1	1	0	0	0	0	2
Ivory Coast	0	1	0	2	1	0	0	1	5
Jamaica	0	0	0	1	2	0	0	1	4
Kenya	0	0	0	0	0	0	3	1	4
Kosovo	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	1
Kuwait	1	0	0	0	1	0	0	1	3
Latvia	0	0	0	0	1	0	1	0	2
Lebanon	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	1
Libya	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	3	3
Lithuania	0	0	2	4	4	0	0	0	10
Malawi	0	0	0	0	3	0	0	0	3
Malaysia	0	0	0	1	0	0	1	0	2
Mali	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1
Mauritius	0	0	1	0	0	0	1	0	2
Morocco	0	1	0	1	0	0	0	1	3
Namibia	2	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	3
Nepal	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	1
Netherlands	0	0	0	2	1	0	0	0	3
Nigeria	11	3	1	5	8	4	4	6	42
North Korea	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	1
Norway	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	1
Not Known	1	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	2
Pakistan	0	1	0	4	1	3	1	0	10
Palestine	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	1
Philippines	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1
Poland	0	0	1	3	5	0	3	2	14
Portugal	0	0	1	2	2	0	0	0	5
Romania	4	0	11	8	10	0	4	1	38
Russia	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1
Serbia	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	1
Sierra Leone	0	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	2
Slovakia	0	0	5	7	5	0	3	3	23
Somalia	3	1	0	4	2	0	1	6	17
South Africa	0	0	0	1	3	0	0	0	4
South Korea	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	1
Spain	1	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	2
Sri Lanka	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	1
St Kitts & Nevis	0	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	2
Sudan	0	4	0	126	1	0	2	24	157
Sweden	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	1
Syria	0	0	0	4	0	0	0	6	10
Taiwan	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	1
Thailand	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	1
Togo	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	2	4
Tunisia	1	0	1	0	0	1	0	0	3
Turkey	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	1
Uganda	1	0	0	0	1	0	1	0	3
United Kingdom	0	0	33	268	337	26	8	7	679
United States of America	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	1
Uzbekistan	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	1
Vietnam	7	11	36	139	31	3	44	91	362
Yemen	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	1
Zimbabwe	1	0	0	1	1	0	2	0	5
Total	70	49	110	916	502	62	131	281	2,121

Duty To Notify Data

1.32 NRM data do not reflect the full extent of identified modern slavery in each UK jurisdiction because some victims do not consent to being referred into the NRM.

1.33 To address this problem, the Modern Slavery Act 2015 introduced a ‘duty to notify’ provision, which has been in place since 1 November 2015. This requires specified public bodies, including the police, the NCA and local authorities, to report to the Government all potential adult victims of modern slavery encountered in England and Wales. As children do not need to consent to an NRM referral, it is expected that all identified potential child victims will be referred to the NRM. The duty to notify provides further data about the number of potential victims of modern slavery who are identified but not referred to the NRM due to the fact that adult victims are able to remain totally anonymous if they wish.

1.34 The Home Office shares the duty to notify data on a regular basis with operational partners including the police and NCA to improve the understanding of the nature and scale of modern slavery.

1.35 Between 1 November 2015 and 30 June 2018, under the duty to notify provision, the Government received notifications of 3,306 potential victims of modern slavery identified in England and Wales who were not referred to the NRM. There continues to be an upward trend in the number of referrals to the duty to notify system, indicative of a raised awareness of the issue of modern slavery and human trafficking amongst first responders and other frontline services.

1.36 As much of the information is anonymised, it is not possible to assess the extent to which reports from different agencies are ‘double counting’ the same individuals, or how many of these individuals were subsequently referred into the NRM by a different first responder, although the guidance on the duty to notify attempts to minimise this issue.

1.37 Of the 3,306 potential victims, 1,694 (51%) were female, 1,580 (48%) were male and in 31 (1%) referrals the gender was unknown. The majority of potential victims were adults at the time of exploitation (2,923; 88%) and a small proportion were children at the time of exploitation (233; 7%), although were adults by the time they were identified.

1.38 The following tables break down the duty to notify figures by year. 2015 represents November to December 2015, 2016 and 2017 contain data for the whole year, and 2018 figures cover January to June 2018.

Table 12: Gender of potential victims of modern slavery reported under the duty to notify in England and Wales, 1 Nov 2015 – 30 June 2018

Gender of potential victims	2015 (Nov-Dec)	2016	2017	2018 (Jan - Jun)	Total (Nov 2015 - June 2018	% of total
Female	51	427	864	352	1,694	51%
Male	29	348	814	389	1,580	48%
Not Recorded	-	-	-	1	1	0%
Undefined/Other	1	7	16	7	31	1%
Total	81	782	1,694	749	3,306	100%

Table 13: Age at time of suspected exploitation of potential victims of modern slavery reported under the duty to notify in England and Wales, 1 Nov 2015 – 30 June 2018

Age at time of suspected exploitation of potential victims	2015 (Nov - Dec)	2016	2017	2018 (Jan - Jun)	Total (Nov 2015 - June 2018)	% of total
Adult	64	688	1,496	675	2,923	88%
Child	17	61	111	44	233	7%
Unknown	-	33	87	30	150	5%
Not Recorded	-	-	-	-	0	0%
Total	81	782	1,694	749	3,306	100%

1.39 Just under half of the potential victims reported under the duty to notify were from EEA countries (1,369) and the UK (239) – 49% of the total when combined, while 1,623 potential victims were recorded as being from non-EEA countries. There remains a higher proportion of EEA national adults referred under the duty to notify compared to the NRM.

Table 14: Country of origin of potential victims of modern slavery reported under the duty to notify in England and Wales, 1 Nov 2015 – 30 June 2018

Country of origin of potential victims	2015 (Nov - Dec)	2016	2017	2018 (Jan - Jun)	Total (Nov 2015 - June 2018)	% of total
UK	1	39	100	99	239	7%
EEA	46	330	728	265	1,369	41%
Non-EEA	32	408	831	352	1,623	49%
Not Recorded	2	5	35	33	75	2%
Total	81	782	1,694	749	3,306	100%

1.40 The most common reported exploitation type of potential victims reported under the duty to notify remains labour exploitation (1,138; 34%). Just under a quarter of potential victims reported that they had experienced multiple exploitation types.

Table 15: Reported exploitation type of potential victims of modern slavery reported under the duty to notify in England and Wales, 1 Nov 2015 – 30 June 2018

Reported exploitation type of potential victims	2015 (Nov - Dec)	2016	2017	2018 (Jan - Jun)	Total (Nov 2015 - June 2018)	% of total
Labour Exploitation	16	240	606	276	1,138	34%
Sexual Exploitation	28	223	419	164	834	25%
Multiple exploitation types	15	182	374	187	758	23%
Unknown	8	77	159	62	306	9%
Criminal Exploitation	13	21	57	25	116	4%
Domestic Servitude	1	39	79	35	154	5%
Total	81	782	1,694	749	3,306	100%

1.41 Almost all reports under the duty to notify were made by the police 1,501 (45%) and the Home Office 1,474 (45%).

Table 16: Organisation reporting potential victims of modern slavery under the duty to notify in England and Wales, 1 Nov 2015 – 30 June 2018

Organisation reporting potential victim	2015 (Nov - Dec)	2016	2017	2018 (Jan - Jun)	Total (Nov 2015 - June 2018)	% of total
Police	46	361	729	365	1,501	45%
Home Office	28	378	789	279	1,474	45%
Local Authorities	5	18	58	36	117	4%
Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority (GLAA)	2	8	59	42	111	3%
NGOs	-	10	27	7	44	1%
Other	-	7	32	20	59	2%
Total	81	782	1,694	749	3,306	100%

1.42 The Scottish Government has introduced similar provisions through the Human Trafficking and Exploitation (Scotland) Act 2015. The Act allows Scottish Ministers to make regulations to place a duty on Scottish public authorities to notify Police Scotland of potential victims of human trafficking and of slavery, servitude, and forced or compulsory labour. The Scottish Government plans to make these regulations over the course of the next year. Non-public authorities, such as third sector organisations, will be encouraged to make similar notifications.

1.43 Duty to notify provisions cannot be fully implemented in Northern Ireland in the absence of Ministers.

Police Recorded Crime

1.44 Police recorded crime (PRC) includes all offences in law that are indictable (those that must or may be dealt with at Crown Court). The Home Office sets out detailed guidance in the Home Office Counting Rules (HOCR), which describe when the 43 police forces in England and Wales, as well as the British Transport Police, must record crime for statistical purposes. Since the Modern Slavery Act 2015 came into force, there has been an increase in police recorded crime year-on-year. This is in line with the upward trend in NRM referrals, and likely due to improved police awareness and recording.

1.45 Between April 2017 to March 2018, the police in England and Wales recorded 3,337 modern slavery crimes, a 49% increase on the previous year. During this period, only two police forces (Leicestershire and Wiltshire) did not record a single modern slavery crime, whilst the majority of forces recorded an increase. In the year to March 2018, Police Scotland recorded 60 offences and the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) recorded 31 offences.^{[footnote 12]}

Chapter 2: The UK’s Existing Response

Pursue

2.01 Pursue actions reflect the UK’s law enforcement response to modern slavery to disrupt and prosecute those responsible.

Prosecutions

2.02 Prosecutions will continue to be brought under the relevant anti-slavery legislation in place at the time of criminal activity occurring. Modern slavery offences tend to involve, or take place alongside, a wide range of abuses and other criminal offences. Prosecuting authorities across the UK jurisdictions work together closely to ensure that prosecution policies and approaches are consistent to provide a robust UK-wide approach to modern slavery.

Prosecutions in England and Wales

2.03 The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has 14 regional Complex Case Units across England and Wales which work closely with local police forces, providing early investigative, charging, and prosecution advice in cases where modern slavery offences have been committed. The Central Casework Divisions in the CPS are also instrumental in supporting prosecutions. The CPS Organised Crime Division works with the NCA and brings specialist expertise in top-tier complex organised crime cases.

2.04 This year, the CPS has delivered mandatory face-to-face training for prosecutors to develop expertise and build further resilience in the Complex Casework Units in all CPS areas, Central Casework Divisions and overseas Criminal Justice Advisors. The training has focused on the provision of early investigative advice to the police to identify all reasonable lines of enquiry that should be followed and ensure that strong cases are built from the outset to put before the court.

2.05 Tables 17 and 18 show the number of defendants prosecuted and convicted of modern slavery offences in England and Wales between 2014 and 2017, where modern slavery was classified as the ‘principal offence’. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences, the principal offence is the one for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same penalty is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe.

2.06 The tables include prosecutions and convictions under both the Modern Slavery Act 2015 and the previous anti-slavery legislation^{[footnote 13]}. The data shows increasing use of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 to prosecute criminal activity. In 2017, 130 defendants were prosecuted under the Modern Slavery Act 2015 (on a principal offence basis); compared to 51 defendants prosecuted under the Act in 2016. It is important to note that arrests and prosecutions commenced in a specific year may not result in convictions until subsequent years due to the time it takes to investigate, gather evidence and prosecute at court.

Table 17: Defendants prosecuted for modern slavery offences on a principal offence basis, England and Wales, 2014 – 2017^{[footnote 14]}

Prosecutions for offences under slavery and trafficking legislation which pre-dated the Modern Slavery Act 2015	2014	2015	2016	2017
Slavery, servitude and forced labour	25	30	5	12
Human trafficking for sexual exploitation	49	38	12	10
Human trafficking for non-sexual exploitation	24	37	13	1
Prosecution for offences under the Modern Slavery Act 2015	-	12	51	130
Total (all slavery and trafficking offences)	98	117	81	153

Table 18: Offenders convicted of modern slavery offences on a principal offence basis, England and Wales, 2014 – 2017

Convictions for offences under slavery and trafficking legislation which pre-dated the Modern Slavery Act 2015	2014	2015	2016	2017
Slavery, servitude and forced labour	8	9	12	10
Human trafficking for sexual exploitation	4	14	31	7
Human trafficking for non-sexual exploitation	27	8	12	9
Conviction for offences under the Modern Slavery Act 2015	-	0	0	22
Total (all slavery and trafficking offences)	39	31	55	48

2.07 Tables 19 and 20 show the total number of modern slavery offences prosecuted and convicted, whether or not they were classified as the ‘principal offence’ for the defendant.

Table 19: Total number of modern slavery offences prosecuted at magistrates’ courts, 2014 - 2017 ^{[footnote 15]}).

The figures given in this table relate to all offences for which the defendants were prosecuted. When a defendant is prosecuted for multiple offences, each offence is counted

Prosecutions for offences under slavery and trafficking legislation which pre-dated the Modern Slavery Act 2015	2014	2015	2016	2017
Slavery, servitude and forced labour	68	79	10	41
Human trafficking for sexual exploitation	110	113	59	69
Human trafficking for non-sexual exploitation	75	70	27	19
Prosecutions for offences under the Modern Slavery Act 2015	-	27	155	309
Total (all slavery and trafficking offences)	253	289	251	438

Table 20: Total number of offences convicted at all courts, England and Wales, 2014 - 2017).

The figures given in this table relate to all offences for which the offenders are found guilty. When an offender is found guilty of multiple offences, each offence is counted

Convictions for offences under slavery and trafficking legislation which pre-dated the Modern Slavery Act 2015	2014	2015	2016	2017
Slavery, servitude and forced labour	8	23	24	11
Human trafficking for sexual exploitation	43	74	75	23
Human trafficking for non-sexual exploitation	57	14	35	16
Convictions for offences under the Modern Slavery Act 2015	-	-	1	63
Total (all slavery and trafficking offences)	108	111	135	113

2.08 Tables 21 and 22 show the number of individuals that were prosecuted and convicted for any modern slavery offence, regardless of whether it was their ‘principal offence’ or not. The total number of offenders prosecuted and convicted cannot be calculated by summing the offenders in each offence category, as this will result in some offenders being counted more than once.

2.09 In 2017, 179 defendants were proceeded against for a total of 309 modern slavery offences as provided for in the Modern Slavery Act 2015.

Table 21: Total number of modern slavery defendants prosecuted at magistrates’ courts, 2014 - 2017

Number of defendants

Prosecutions for offences under slavery and trafficking legislation which pre-dated the Modern Slavery Act 2015 [footnote 16]	2014	2015	2016	2017
Slavery, servitude and forced labour	29	48	10	21
Human trafficking for sexual exploitation	68	69	35	24
Human trafficking for non-sexual exploitation	47	43	20	13
Offences under the Modern Slavery Act 2015	-	26	80	179
Total (all slavery and trafficking offences)	128	162	136	205

Table 22: Total number of modern slavery offenders convicted at all courts, 2014 – 2017

Convictions for offences under slavery and trafficking legislation which pre-dated the Modern Slavery Act 2015[footnote 17]	2014	2015	2016	2017
Slavery, servitude and forced labour	8	11	20	11
Human trafficking for sexual exploitation	14	24	41	9
Human trafficking for non-sexual exploitation	32	10	13	11
Offences under the Modern Slavery Act 2015	-	-	1	37
Total (all slavery and trafficking offences)	54	44	69	59

2.10 The CPS Case Management System provides further data about modern slavery offences prosecuted in England and Wales. The CPS data shows the number of defendants who were flagged as being investigated for a modern slavery offence, or an inchoate offence involving modern slavery, regardless of whether the eventual prosecution or conviction was for modern slavery.

2.11 In 2017 there were a total of 265 completed prosecutions of defendants flagged as being involved in modern slavery. The 265 completed prosecutions comprised 180 convictions and 85 unsuccessful prosecutions.

2.12 Although the conviction rate showed a decline in 2017 compared to the previous year, this rate is subject to fluctuation given the relatively small number of cases, the complex nature of modern slavery offences, and the time taken for cases to be concluded.

Table 23: Completed prosecution outcomes for individuals flagged as being involved in modern slavery

	2014	2015	2016	2017
Convictions	130	149	216	180
Unsuccessful	59	77	133	85
Total Completed Prosecution Outcomes	189	226	349	265

Table 24: Charging decisions for suspects flagged as modern slavery offenders

	2014	2015	2016	2017
Charged	155	218	175	237
% Charged	76.4%	79.3%	69.7%	72.5%
Pre-Charge Decisions	203	275	251	327
Received	183	244	212	321

2.13 There has been an increase in the number of charging decisions made by the CPS. There has also been an increase in the number of defendants charged, as well as cases which were referred by the police for early investigative advice (pre-charge decisions) from the CPS.

Case Study: Prosecution of County Line Offending

This case concerns the operation of a drugs supply network known as a ‘county line’.

In 2017 a drugs gang (the ’Dem Africans’ gang) which operated from the London area sought to move their operation into Swansea, Wales. The defendants advertised the sale of class A drugs to potential buyers in Swansea via mass text messaging from a dedicated mobile phone line. The gang subsequently trafficked vulnerable individuals to the Swansea area for the sole purpose of selling drugs to meet this new demand. The victims were forced to conceal the drugs inside their bodies during transit, and upon arrival in Wales, were under the daily control of the defendants. One female victim was threatened if she tried to leave the house, and told that the gang members were monitoring her phone.

Mobile phone downloads and cell site analysis was used by the police to track the whereabouts of the defendants and victims. The defendants pleaded guilty to drug trafficking offences and offences of trafficking for exploitation, and were sentenced to a total of 19 years imprisonment. Both were made the subject of Slavery and Trafficking Prevention Orders for a period of 20 years.

Victims and witnesses per case

Table 25: Victims and witnesses per case

	2014	2015	2016	2017
Number of victims and witnesses	680	759	1,379	1,009
Number of cases	72	124	167	136
Average number of victims and witnesses per case	9.4	6.1	8.3	7.4

2.14 The average number of victims and witnesses being supported in giving evidence in court has increased over time (from an average of 3 in 2011). The greater number of victims may be an indication of the increased seriousness and complexity of cases under prosecution.

Prosecutions in Scotland

2.15 The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) has appointed both national and local lead prosecutors for human trafficking to spearhead prosecution of these offences. The national lead prosecutor is a senior member of Crown Counsel within the National Sexual Crimes Unit and provides instruction on all cases involving potential victims. In May 2016, the Lord Advocate, Scotland’s chief prosecutor, published statutory instructions for prosecutors in relation to the non-prosecution of victims of human trafficking.

2.16 Tables 26 and 27 show the number of individuals prosecuted for human trafficking offences, or where offences had a human trafficking aggravation added to them under Section 5 of the Human Trafficking and Exploitation (Scotland) Act 2015, and the number of accused who were convicted of human trafficking offences. All figures are based on the year the case was reported to COPFS.

2.17 It is important to note that a number of the individuals included in these figures will have been prosecuted for, and convicted of, offences other than human trafficking, such as immigration offences, brothel keeping or sexual offences. Evidence secured in the cases mentioned here may have been used to support prosecutions in other countries. Proceedings are ongoing against a large number of individuals listed here.

Table 26: Number of individuals where initial decision was to prosecute for human trafficking offences in Scotland from 2013-June 2018

Year	Trafficking for sexual exploitation	Trafficking for other exploitative purposes	Offence of forced labour and servitude	Offences aggravated by trafficking	Total
2013	5	4	1[footnote 18]	-	10
2014	4	6	-	-	10
2015	6	1	-	-	7
2016	4	5	-	4	13
2017	8[footnote 19]	2	2	-	12
2018[footnote 20]	4[footnote 21]	-	1	-	5

Table 27: Number of individuals convicted of human trafficking offences in Scotland, broken down by the date the police report was received by COPFS, 2013 - June 2018.

Proceedings are ongoing against a large number of individuals which means that these figures may change as cases are concluded

Year	Trafficking for sexual exploitation	Trafficking for other exploitative purposes	Offence of forced labour and servitude	Offences aggravated by trafficking	Total
2013	-	1	-	-	1
2014	-	-	-	-	-
2015	1	1	-	-	2
2016	-	-	-	-	-
2017	1	-	2	-	3
2018[footnote 22]	-	-	-	-	-

Prosecutions in Northern Ireland

2.18 In Northern Ireland, the Public Prosecution Service (PPS) has a specialised team of prosecutors for human trafficking and modern slavery offences. PPS continues to engage closely with police in all modern slavery cases at an early stage of investigation. It is anticipated that prosecutions will arise from a number of pending cases and that convictions will increase as cases from earlier years proceed through the court process. The 2018 convictions were the first convictions under the Human Trafficking and Exploitation (Criminal Justice and Support for Victims) Act (Northern Ireland) 2015 and were also the first human trafficking convictions in Northern Ireland where the victims did not have to provide any evidence as part of the investigation.

Table 28: Number of persons prosecuted for trafficking in persons in Northern Ireland, 2015 to 2018^{[footnote 23]}

Year	2015	2016	2017	2018
Slavery, servitude and forced labour	0	0	0	0
Human trafficking for sexual exploitation	2	1	3	5
Human trafficking for non-sexual exploitation	2	2	0	0
Offence yet to be clarified	0	0	0	0

Table 29: Number of persons convicted for trafficking in persons in Northern Ireland, 2015 to June 2018^{[footnote 24]}

Year	2015	2016	2017	2018
Slavery, servitude and forced labour	0	0	0	0
Human trafficking for sexual exploitation	0	2	0	2
Human trafficking for non-sexual exploitation	0	2	0	0
Total	0	4[footnote 25]	0	2

UK-Wide Law Enforcement Action to Tackle Modern Slavery

2.19 In 2018, there has been a continued uplift in operational activity to tackle modern slavery, involving a range of law enforcement agencies. Modern slavery remains one of the highest priority serious and organised crime threats for the NCA and other law enforcement partners. In July 2018, there were 850 active police investigations, compared with 188 in November 2016.

2.20 Project AIDANT, the series of NCA-led operational intensifications, continued to bring together resources from the NCA, Border Force, Immigration Enforcement, Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC), the GLAA and UK police forces to deliver intensified operational activity focused on specific thematic areas. During Project AIDANT activity in 2017, over 320 offenders were arrested and over 560 potential victims of trafficking were identified. The NCA continued to use all the tactics at its disposal, including specialist tactical advisers on modern slavery.

Case Study: Juju Practice

An African male arrived at the UK border seeking entry to visit the UK. His travelling companion described him to Border Force staff as a voodoo man, which he vehemently denied. Border Force officers discovered a variety of unusual items in his luggage which they suspected were associated with witchcraft practices in West Africa, including juju. Juju rituals are a means by which many West African female victims of trafficking are controlled, holding a genuine belief that they or their families will be harmed should they disobey their traffickers or make any disclosures.

The male denied involvement in witchcraft and claimed that all items were for his personal use as herbal remedies. Further investigation identified that the male was wanted by the authorities in his country of origin for allegedly stealing human body parts for witchcraft purposes. The male was refused entry to the UK and returned to his country of origin where he was further investigated.

It is very difficult to encourage victims subjected to juju ceremonies to disclose information or evidence which would lead to an investigation of their traffickers. Recognising the signs and supporting such victims is therefore a key objective for Border Force officials.

2.21. Some of these intensifications have also formed part of EU-wide operational activity, delivered through the Europol EMPACT ^{[footnote 26]} Trafficking in Human Beings Group, which the UK (via the NCA) currently chairs. The Group delivers an extensive operational action plan tackling human trafficking across the EU, working together to share best practice and disrupt key enablers including the internet and criminal finances. In addition to Project AIDANT, the NCA has put in place a comprehensive plan across agencies at the national, regional and local level.

2.22 Chief Constable Shaun Sawyer, the National Police Chief’s Council (NPCC) Lead for modern slavery, chairs the national cross- law enforcement Threat Group on behalf of the NCA, which brings together NCA, policing, Immigration Enforcement, CPS, Border Force, GLAA and the Home Office. The group leads on improving the strategic integrated response within agencies and commissioning new analytical work.

Police Response

Police Response - England and Wales

2.23 Over the last year, Chief Constable Shaun Sawyer has continued to drive improvements to the police response to modern slavery, working closely with the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners (APCC) lead for modern slavery, Mark Burns Williamson.

2.24 The Modern Slavery Police Transformation Programme was established in November 2016 through a £8.5 million grant awarded by the Home Secretary. Its scope covers increasing the understanding of modern slavery within police forces in England and Wales, and improving the consistency of the police response, drawing on the recommendations to policing within Caroline Haughey’s 2016 review of the Modern Slavery Act 2015.^{[footnote 27]}

2.25 The Modern Slavery Police Transformation Unit became operational in April 2017 and is funded until 31 March 2019. It includes approximately 80 specialists, who provide the following capabilities in support of the whole law-enforcement response to modern slavery:

• Joint Slavery and Trafficking Analysis Centre (JSTAC): a multi-agency team of analysts delivering joint intelligence assessments to support the UK’s strategic approach to modern slavery;
• Europol: dedicated resources within Europol and in NCA to support the international exchange of modern slavery and human trafficking intelligence and to support forces to establish joint investigations with other countries;
• Modern Slavery Insight Team: a national team of police strategic and performance analysts improving intelligence collection activity, developing the flow of information into and from police forces, and supporting the establishment of stronger measures of police activity;
• Regional Transformation Teams: strategic analysts and coordinators in the nine Regional Organised Crime Units (ROCUs) in England and Wales and the Metropolitan Police Service, supporting forces to improve their performance against the national policing action plan, debriefing investigations and developing regional and local analysis of the threat;
• What Works Team: a team of specialist advisers focusing on improving the effectiveness of modern slavery investigations in an evidence-based way, providing guidance and support to police forces about lessons learned;
• NRM Triage Functions: additional resources in Immigration Enforcement, NCA, the Metropolitan Police Service and national policing to improve the flow of NRM and duty to notify information between competent authorities and policing, and informing changes to NRM processes;
• Training Function: the development and delivery of a suite of accredited training and awareness raising activity, designed to enable a wide range of roles within the policing family to improve their response to modern slavery; and
• Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) Coordination: supporting the development of the National Modern Slavery and Trafficking PCCs network and increasing PCCs’ awareness of their convening role.

Impact and effectiveness of the Modern Slavery Police Transformation Unit (MSPTU)

2.26 Through the Modern Slavery Police Transformation Programme and in chairing the multi-agency National Threat Group, Chief Constable Sawyer has overseen a steep uplift in police investigations. At a national level, there is a rich understanding of the nature of these crimes and more joint investigations taking place with other countries than ever before.

2.27 The Transformation Programme has reviewed over 100 investigations and prosecutions to date, highlighting and sharing good practice across forces and working to overcome systemic issues that have been identified. A programme of analytical work has been undertaken to inform both the policy and operational response.

2.28 The Transformation Programme has delivered a comprehensive programme of training to forces and partner agencies, with key courses accredited by the College of Policing. The four day MSPTU specialist investigators course has been delivered to nearly 400 investigators from all police forces and a wide range of other law enforcement agencies. Train the trainer events mean that this can also now be delivered in-house by both the NCA and several lead forces around the country. In total, 575 specialist interviewers and over 500 senior investigating officers have received training, and nearly 500 intelligence officers/analysts are currently being trained. There is a comprehensive programme of video masterclasses available and awareness-raising roadshows run by the MSPTU have reached over 1,500 frontline staff.

Police Response - Scotland

2.29 Police Scotland continued to support the Scottish Government’s Human Trafficking and Exploitation Strategy and holds the chair of Action Area 2 group for the Strategy, focusing on the identification of perpetrators and disruption of their activity. This group is a multi-agency coalition of representatives from law enforcement, government agencies, COPFS and third sector organisations.

2.30 Police Scotland has focused on raising awareness of the signs of trafficking and exploitation, including the production of a training package targeted at public bodies. Officers from the National Human Trafficking Unit (NHTU) have delivered numerous presentations to private business to enhance their knowledge of the crime.

2.31 Section 38 of the Human Trafficking and Exploitation (Scotland) Act 2015 places a duty on Scottish public authorities to notify the Chief Constable of Police Scotland about anyone who is, or appears to be, a victim of an offence under the Act. This provision is yet to commence. However, a trial has been undertaken with City of Edinburgh Council and Police Scotland. Police Scotland has designed an online portal for receipt of referrals. Planning is ongoing for this trial to be extended to include non-public bodies, namely Border Force and the GLAA.

2.32 Police Scotland has implemented improved recording procedures to ensure adherence with Scottish Crime Recording Standards, and share intelligence with partners within Scotland, across the UK and internationally.

Police Response - Northern Ireland

2.33 The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) Service Lead continued to chair the Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking Subgroup of the Organised Crime Task Force (OCTF), which brings together the main statutory bodies to drive action against trafficking and modern slavery. Positive partnership working has meant that ongoing operations have made use of the full range of local, national and international tactics to identify suspects and victims and to disrupt organised crime groups involved in human exploitation. The PSNI specialist team is also piloting the inclusion of a Home Office Immigration Enforcement officer in their team to further their understanding of organised immigration crime and links to human trafficking.

2.34 During the 2017/18 financial year the PSNI Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking Unit (MSHTU) has made eight arrests, conducted 22 searches under warrant and carried out 59 safeguarding visits/non-warrant operations for labour and sexual exploitation. Over the same time period, six persons were charged with modern slavery and human trafficking offences and/or related offences, and two persons were reported to the PPS for human trafficking related offences.

International Law Enforcement Collaboration to Tackle Modern Slavery

2.35 Internationally, UK law enforcement has led activity with European partners to tackle labour exploitation and child trafficking. In May 2018, 57 suspects were arrested for human trafficking and 192 for other offences. In addition, 379 potential victims of trafficking were identified and, from the data gathered during the activity, 56 new operations were initiated to identify further suspects and victims.

2.36 The NCA has a network of International Liaison Officers (ILOs) across the globe, including in key source and transit countries for modern slavery victims and offenders. The ILOs work with host country law enforcement agencies to ensure an effective international law enforcement response to modern slavery. For example, the NCA, alongside Immigration Enforcement, Border Force and the CPS, has continued to work extensively with the Nigerian Anti-Trafficking Agency (NAPTIP). This includes training and mentoring a Joint Border Task Force (JBTF) and joint working on European investigations. Immigration Enforcement International provides a mentor from the overseas investigations team to support NAPTIP officers seconded into the JBTF. The team has built a strong reputation for delivery over the last 18 months and has conducted joint investigations with law enforcement partners in Europe. In 2017, NAPTIP officers were deployed to Heathrow and Gatwick Airports (during Project AIDANT) to build their expertise in identifying potential victims of trafficking, and also attended a number of intelligence led enforcement visits that indicated Nigerian nationals were being forced into domestic servitude and exploitation.

Case Study: Josephine Iyamu

Following trial this year, British citizen Josephine Iyamu was convicted of five offences of human trafficking for sexual exploitation under the Modern Slavery Act 2015, and one offence of perverting the course of justice, for which she was sentenced to 14 years imprisonment. In September 2018, the Court of Appeal increased her sentence to 18 years imprisonment. The defendant had trafficked five vulnerable young women from Nigeria to Germany, where they were sexually exploited.

All victims were from poor backgrounds with few opportunities and the defendant promised them work in Europe. However, prior to their travel, she made the women attend juju ceremonies. During the ritual, the victims were cut with razors, had their wounds filled with powder, and were forced to eat raw animal material. The defendant demanded that they repay her a debt of €30,000 - €38,000 for their travel for which they had to swear an oath. She also held photographs and other personal items belonging to the women which enhanced her control. Bound to secrecy by the curses placed upon them, the victims made the treacherous journey over land through Libya to Germany, where they were placed in brothels and forced to hand over their earnings to the defendant.

Following an investigation by the NCA, Iyamu was arrested at Heathrow airport. To support the victims give evidence, the prosecution approached a voodoo priest to reverse the oath and curses placed upon the vulnerable women. The prosecution also called a cultural expert to explain the impact of juju ceremonies to the court. The victims and witnesses gave evidence via a live TV link from Germany and Nigeria. Given that the trafficking and exploitation had not taken place in the UK, the defendant was the first to be prosecuted under the extra territorial provisions of the Modern Slavery Act 2015

2.37 In instances where the CPS and investigators and prosecutors from other EU countries are engaged in parallel investigations, a Joint Investigation Team (JIT) is established for a fixed period. In August 2018, the UK was participating in 25 live JITs for human trafficking; the highest amongst all EU Member States.

2.38 The Police Transformation Unit Europol team now provides data matching across the 800+ police investigations with the Europol system, and have provided a range of guidance, training and support products to simplify international checks in the UK.

2.39 The Metropolitan Police Service and the CPS have delivered two joint modern slavery JIT awareness conferences for approximately 300 investigators and prosecutors from all UK jurisdictions. This was supported by partners from Europol, Eurojust, and Romanian and Hungarian officials.

2.40 Border Force International has approximately 80 officers based overseas for the targeting and profiling capability building programme, Project Hunter. In June 2018, Border Force International sponsored a study visit by Ghanaian anti -trafficking officers who observed UK operations and attended briefings on the modern slavery threat. Border Force also has staff embedded at the International Targeting Centre (ITC) in Washington working to counter modern slavery.

2.41 In May 2018, Border Force ran a collaborative operation with the FCO and the charity Unseen to raise awareness amongst young travellers to Spain. Information on the dangers of undertaking unofficial PR work and the possibility of exploitative conditions akin to modern slavery was distributed. The operation attracted positive media attention that focused on the modern slavery threat, even to young British holidaymakers. Border Force has also engaged with the Irish Border Management Unit providing training on modern slavery to their frontline staff and supporting operations at Dublin Airport.

2.42 Immigration Enforcement has a number of Community Engagement leads who work with community and faith groups to raise awareness of modern slavery issues. The leads represent Nigeria, India, Pakistan, China, Albania, and Vietnam and each lead works within their community to highlight issues of modern slavery.

Tackling non-compliance and serious labour market exploitation

2.43 Over the last year, the UK Government has continued to implement the reforms made under the Immigration Act 2016 to strengthen the response to labour market enforcement. This has led to the creation of the role of Director of Labour Market Enforcement, as well as broadening the remit and powers of the GLAA. Significant progress has been made to better understand and identify non-compliance and take action against serious labour market exploitation. This has included:

Publishing the first full labour market enforcement strategy for 2018/19 by Sir David Metcalf, the Director of Labour Market Enforcement in May 2018

The strategy provides a comprehensive assessment of the scale of non-compliance in the labour market and makes 37 challenging recommendations to tackle labour market exploitation, including modern slavery. The UK Government is considering the recommendations and will publish a response later this year. Sir David Metcalf also published a Call for Evidence on 27 July 2018 seeking stakeholder views and evidence. The Call for Evidence focussed on tackling non-compliance in three sectors: hotels; restaurants; and warehousing, as well as cross-sector issues, including the use of labour market enforcement resources, compliance approaches and joint working. The consultation closed on 28 September 2018 and the findings will help to inform the development of the Director of Labour Market Enforcement’s next annual labour market enforcement strategy for 2019/20.

Utilising powers to issue labour market enforcement (LME) undertakings and orders where labour market offences have been committed deliberately or recklessly

The three enforcement bodies have continued to actively seek appropriate cases to use LME undertakings as a sanction to secure compliance. The first two LME undertakings were issued by the GLAA in March 2018 and further undertakings have been issued to tackle non-compliance by the enforcement bodies, bringing the total so far to 10. Work to implement these measures in Scotland is underway.

Tackling serious cases of labour market exploitation, including modern slavery

The GLAA has made good progress utilising powers under Section 114B of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 (PACE) to investigate serious cases of labour exploitation in the first year of operation. To date, 37 Labour Abuse Prevention Officers (LAPOs) have received specialist training and are now in place. In 2017/18, the GLAA conducted over 100 operations, with more than 80 of those across sectors outside of the traditional agricultural sector. As a result, the GLAA arrested over 100 people for suspected labour market offences. As a first responder, the GLAA has also referred over 50 potential victims of modern slavery to the NRM and over 80 through other protective services. It also recovered over £94,000 cash for workers. Between April and August 2018, the GLAA conducted a further 80 operations and as a result arrested 18 people on suspicion of labour market offences. The GLAA has also referred 27 potential victims of modern slavery to the NRM process and 33 through other protective services as well as recovering over £800 for workers.

2.44 The UK Government recognises the importance of identifying other sectors at high risk of labour exploitation. For example, work to tackle labour exploitation in hand car washes has been the focus of increased law enforcement activity over the last 18 months. More recently it has also gained the interest of Parliament and religious institutions, with the Environmental Audit Committee launching an Inquiry and the Clewer Initiative launching a safe car wash app, which the UK Government has endorsed. The GLAA has also played a greater role in leading operations since it acquired its powers under PACE in April 2017.

Asset Recovery

2.45 Asset seizure is an important element of the UK’s response to modern slavery, as the crime of modern slavery is often motivated by financial profit.

Asset Recovery - England and Wales

2.46 The table below sets out data extracted from the Joint Asset Recovery Database (JARD), showing the value of the cash seizure and criminal confiscation orders relating to cases involving modern slavery in England and Wales in each of the last four calendar years. ^{[footnote 28]}

Table 30: Value of cash forfeiture orders and criminal confiscation orders for modern slavery offences, England and Wales

	2013/14		2014/15		2015/16		2016/17		2017/18		2018-Present
Order Type	Order Volume	Order Amount	Order Volume	Order Amount	Order Volume	Order Amount	Order Volume	Order Amount	Order Volume	Order Amount	Order Volume	Order Amount
Restraint Orders	13	£1,125,000.00	8	£1,650,000.00	9	£1,975,000.00	7	£525,000.00	16	£2,650,000.00	3	£525,000.00
Cash Forfeitures	5	£16,871.07	5	£24,035.82	23	£138,660.59	20	£120,542.45	13	£109,507.42	4	£38,243.05
Confiscation Orders	22	£578,166.39	19	£1,125,922.28	15	£567,890.97	20	£1,170,651.01	27	£658,749.19	26	£771,844.51

2.47 The MSPTU has analysed over 100 investigations to identify opportunities to improve asset recovery and the use of financial intelligence and a Financial Investigator has been appointed to share lessons learnt.

Asset Recovery - Scotland

2.48 Since 31 May 2016, the new trafficking and exploitation offences under Sections 1 and 4 of the Human Trafficking and Exploitation (Scotland) Act 2015 have been in force, along with Part 3 of the Act which gives the police and courts powers to detain and forfeit property such as vehicles, ships or aircraft in cases involving trafficking. Additionally, in terms of proceeds of crime legislation, human trafficking has now been added to the list of lifestyle offences, meaning that property is potentially recoverable in trafficking cases.

Asset Recovery - Northern Ireland

2.49 The PSNI appoints a financial investigator to modern slavery and human trafficking investigations. The assets of every potential suspect are considered for seizure in line with the relevant legislation and procedures. Consideration is given to applying for restraint and confiscation of criminal assets, where appropriate.

Prevent

2.50 Prevent actions are about preventing people from committing modern slavery offences or becoming modern slavery victims in the first place.

Costs of Modern Slavery Research

2.51 The UK Government continued to focus on improving the evidence base on modern slavery to inform the approach to prevention. In July 2018, the Home Office published research that estimated the social and economic cost of modern slavery to the UK. The research estimated the total cost of modern slavery in the UK in the year ending March 2017 to be between £3.3 and £4.3 billion.^{[footnote 29]} The physical and emotional harms to victims represent the biggest component of the cost, due to the length of exploitation and the repeated offences that occur. This cost figure also includes the cost of health and victim services and law enforcement costs. The unit cost of a modern slavery crime (around £330,000) is higher than the unit cost of any other crime type, except for homicide (£3.2 million).

2.52. Estimating the economic and social cost of modern slavery has enabled a better understanding of the wider impacts of this crime and the value of prevention activity. The high unit cost of a modern slavery crime (around £330,000) demonstrates that interventions to prevent modern slavery occurring in the first place are likely to be particularly cost-beneficial, but the cost associated with the long duration of exploitation implies that identifying existing, ongoing exploitation as early as possible could also effectively reduce harm.

Communications Activity

2.53 Communications activity has been a key element of the Government’s approach to prevention this year, to raise awareness of modern slavery and help frontline staff spot the signs, complemented by localised targeted communications campaigns.

Raising Awareness of Modern Slavery

2.54 Raising public awareness of modern slavery is an important tool in the fight against this crime. Awareness raising materials have been published by Government in a range of different languages.^{[footnote 30]}

2.55 In January 2018, the NCA launched the Invisible People campaign, a touring photographic exhibition which portrayed the signs of slavery and exploitation to raise awareness across the UK.

2.56 In 2017, the Scottish Government ran a national marketing campaign aimed at the Scottish population and victims. The campaign materials were produced in consultation with trafficking victims, to make the messages accessible to those at risk of trafficking. The campaign materials included information on how to report concerns or access support and they were printed and shared in a range of languages. The posters included the clear message “people should not be bought and sold”. An evaluation of the campaign showed positive results for awareness-raising.^{[footnote 31]} In March 2018 a follow-up public survey of 1,008 adults was undertaken asking the same questions as a previous survey in March 2017, with some additional questions on media and marketing. This showed increases in awareness of trafficking taking place around the world and in Scotland, but no improvement in awareness of trafficking in local communities. There was a significant shift in what people said they would do if they suspected trafficking was taking place – more people said they would contact the police and fewer said they would talk to family or friends. One in four respondents said they had seen materials from the Scottish Government marketing campaign.

2.57 The Northern Ireland Department of Justice (DoJ) launched a modern slavery public awareness campaign in October 2017 to mark Anti-Slavery Day. The campaign was rolled out across Northern Ireland in collaboration with local government, law enforcement, health and social care and the wider public, private and community sectors. A high-profile launch event was attended by the Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner (IASC) and the Chief Constable of the PSNI and attracted significant positive media coverage. This led to the development of links with one of the main regional newspapers which ran extended articles on signs and indicators of modern slavery. Further opportunities to build on this media interest are anticipated.^{[footnote 32]}

2.58 The Home Office used its social media channels to raise awareness of modern slavery and promote reporting. It supported efforts across Government including marking Anti-Slavery Day and World Day Against Trafficking with tweets, animations and infographics.

2.59 In October 2017, the Home Office provided a toolkit of materials to around 11,000 target businesses to help them to publish their transparency in supply chains statements and raise awareness of their requirement to do so.

2.60 Border Force undertook a range of communication activities to promote awareness of modern slavery to arrivals at airports and seaports, including targeted information days.

2.61 The Government used press activity to raise awareness of convictions and victims’ experiences, providing content for titles such as Debrief magazine and supporting the Evening Standard ‘Slaves on Our Streets’ campaign.

2.62 The All Wales Core School Liaison Programme is operated by the Welsh Government and Welsh police forces and the risks of modern slavery are part of the curriculum being taught in all Welsh schools.

Training and Tools for Frontline Staff

2.63 As an often hidden crime, modern slavery can be difficult to identify. In October 2017, the Home Office published Modern Slavery Awareness and Victim Identification Guidance.^{[footnote 33]} This guidance provides clear information on the key facts and signs for public sector workers who may not routinely come across modern slavery, and information about how to report suspected incidences of modern slavery.

2.64 To complement this guidance, the Home Office created a clear gov.uk training resource page. This website shares examples of training products available to public sector professionals and other individuals that might come across victims to help raise awareness, better spot the signs and increase confidence in reporting modern slavery.^{[footnote 34]} This includes information about training courses and materials available for police and local authority staff.

2.65 Police Scotland, with input from a range of partners, has developed an e-learning resource for public sector professionals who may come into contact with trafficking victims but do not work with them on a regular basis. The aim of this training is to improve understanding of what human trafficking is, give advice on how to recognise the signs of trafficking, and provide routes for finding out more and reporting issues to the appropriate authorities.

2.66 In 2018, the Northern Ireland DoJ committed new resourcing for the development and implementation of a new strategic response to modern slavery training for primarily non-law enforcement agencies across Northern Ireland. Work is ongoing with relevant cross-sector statutory agencies and Northern Ireland Civil Service Departments to develop and agree a multi-agency Modern Slavery Training Needs Analysis and Training Plan for Northern Ireland.

2.67 The Welsh Government has established an Anti-Slavery Training Programme to deliver a wide range of courses across Wales. The training is approved by the Welsh Government National Training Framework.

Targeted Communications with At-Risk Communities

2.68 Over the last year, the Home Office has used the insight from its modern slavery typology research^{[footnote 35]} to pilot communications activity targeted at particular types of modern slavery, both in the UK and overseas in countries from where victims are trafficked to the UK. This activity was aimed at potential victims, potential offenders and at-risk communities and aimed to change behaviours and attitudes and encourage reporting of modern slavery.

2.69 The Home Office supported pilot communications activity targeting communities at risk of becoming victims in areas of East Anglia. Social media posts provided information on the risks of labour exploitation and how to report.

2.70 The Home Office’s Research, Information and Communications Unit (RICU) worked with Nigerian communities in Manchester and Barking and Dagenham to co-create and pilot communications activity designed to help these communities spot the signs of domestic servitude and encourage them to report suspicions. Domestic servitude is assessed to be one of the most hidden forms of exploitation and a high proportion of reported victims are of Nigerian origin, according to the NRM referral data. Communications activity was delivered through the voluntary sector (including The Salvation Army, AFRUCA and Unseen), trusted professional bodies (such as the Institute for Health Visitors) and community ambassadors working at a local level. Campaign activity was supported by over 47 local public service providers and 28 community organisations in 2017, including groups such as the Muslim Association of Nigeria and the Nigeria Nurses Charitable Association UK. In 2018, school outreach sessions were delivered to over 300 students and community workshops to over 2,000. Bespoke e-learning for social workers and health visitors has also been developed to support frontline professionals who may come into contact with victims.

2.71 Evaluation undertaken in 2018 demonstrated that the campaign was successful in building knowledge of the prevalence and illegality of domestic servitude amongst target groups and reporting mechanisms. A survey of 233 adults across the two locations revealed that two in five (43%) had seen the campaign.^{[footnote 36]} Those who recognised the campaign were more likely to agree that modern slavery happens a lot or all the time in their local area (34% vs 20%) and were more likely to have heard of the Modern Slavery Helpline (31% vs 6%). Those who recognised the campaign were also more likely to be able to spot at least one sign of modern slavery and agree that someone using forced house-help in the UK would be prosecuted.

2.72 The Home Office also funded pilot activity to prevent women in Nigeria from becoming victims of modern slavery in the UK. This communications programme aimed to inform young women and their parents and guardians about the risks of domestic servitude, trafficking and exploitation and the local alternatives. It was delivered by locally recruited community advisors who held information events and one-to-one consultations, and delivered educational outreach activity.^{[footnote 37]}

2.73 In Wales and Northern Ireland, there has been activity to reach vulnerable at-risk homeless individuals, including production of a leaflet for the homeless sector in Northern Ireland. This sets out common signs and indicators, and signposts the Modern Slavery Helpline, PSNI contact numbers, and support providers’ contact details.

Slavery and Trafficking Risk and Prevention Orders

2.74 The legislation in place across the UK includes provisions for civil preventative orders to enable courts to place tailored restrictions on the activities of individuals convicted of, or considered to be at risk of committing, modern slavery and trafficking offences. These civil orders are an important tool to prevent slavery-related harm before it occurs and to prevent re-offending.

2.75 In England and Wales, between July 2015 (when the Modern Slavery Act came into force) and June 2018, 116 Slavery and Trafficking Prevention and Risk Orders were issued in total, consisting of 81 Slavery and Trafficking Prevention Orders and 35 Slavery and Trafficking Risk Orders.^{[footnote 38]}

2.76 In a case this year, nine suspects were subject to a lengthy investigation for trafficking for labour exploitation. Slavery and Trafficking Risk Orders were applied to restrict their activities while enquiries continued. Two of the suspects breached one of the conditions in their Orders (not to handle bank cards of named victims). The CPS prosecuted them for the first breaches of Risk Orders; they were sentenced to three and a half and two years and four months in prison respectively.

2.77 In Northern Ireland, Slavery and Trafficking Prevention Orders (STPOs) are considered for every eligible person in a PSNI modern slavery and human trafficking investigation. Two STPOs were granted in 2018 in the first convictions under the 2015 Act – one for 10 years and one for seven years.

2.78 In Scotland, in March 2018, the first convictions in terms of the Human Trafficking and Exploitation (Scotland) Act 2015 were registered. Two accused were convicted of offences in terms of Section 4 of the Act and were sentenced to a total of ten years and seven years imprisonment. Both were also made subject to Trafficking and Exploitation Prevention Orders, the first to be imposed.

Protect

2.79 Protect actions are about making the UK and its economy, workers, and potential victims less vulnerable to modern slavery. This means taking measures that make it difficult for traffickers to succeed, such as increasing both the public and private sectors’ vigilance towards this crime.

Transparency in Supply Chains

2.80 The UK is the first country to require businesses to report on the steps they have taken to tackle modern slavery.

2.81 Section 54 (Transparency in Supply Chains provisions) of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 requires any commercial organisation that supplies goods or services and conducts business or part of a business in the UK and has an annual turnover of at least £36 million to produce a slavery and human trafficking statement each financial year. The statement must set out what steps the organisation has taken over the previous 12 months to ensure that slavery and human trafficking is not taking place in its business and global supply chains. If an organisation has taken no such steps, they must publish a statement saying they have taken no action.

2.82 As well as giving consumers, civil society and investors the information that they need to make informed choices and scrutinise business behaviour, the legislation was designed to create a level playing field for responsible businesses.

2.83 It is now the second year of reporting under the Act and there are increasing examples of good practice in the thousands of statements that have been published. This includes companies implementing the ‘Employer Pays’ principle to prevent worker-paid recruitment fees which can contribute to debt bondage, as well as taking steps to change purchasing practice to reduce modern slavery risks.

Case Study: Bright Future Programme

Bright Future is an employment programme developed by the Co-op with charity partners, to provide victims of modern slavery with a pathway to paid employment and reintegration into society. The programme offers victims a four-week paid work placement leading to a non-competitive interview. If both elements are successful, the candidate will be offered a permanent job, and 14 businesses across various sectors of the economy have so far signed up to the programme. This has resulted in more than 50 vulnerable survivors being given a chance to rebuild their lives and it is envisaged that up to 300 will secure placements through the Bright Future programme by 2020.

2.84 Campaigners and NGOs continue to play an important role in scrutinising the effectiveness of companies’ statements through benchmarking initiatives, including the ‘Know the Chains’ sector reports and the Business and Human Rights Resource Centre’s analysis of FTSE 100 companies. It is also positive to see examples of multi-stakeholder and sector-led initiatives emerging such as ‘Tech Against Trafficking’, which is bringing together the tech sector, academics and NGOs to look at how technology solutions, including mobile apps, data and supply chain traceability tools can be used to fight modern slavery and human trafficking. Work is also being led by the Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB) to tackle modern slavery in construction supply chains.

2.85 However, the Government recognises that more action is required and the Home Office will write directly to the Chief Executives of companies in scope with very clear instructions to support effective reporting under the Act. The Department has also established a ‘Tackling Modern Slavery in Supply Chains’ thematic group which will report to the Modern Slavery Strategic Implementation Group chaired by the Minister for Crime, Safeguarding and Vulnerability. The thematic group will bring together key stakeholders to focus on business compliance with the Modern Slavery Act 2015, as well as the sharing of best practice to inform the Government’s work to tackle modern slavery in public and private sector supply chains.

2.86 In July 2018, the Minister for Crime, Safeguarding and Vulnerability chaired the second Business Against Slavery Forum with the CEOs of some of the world’s largest and most influential businesses. As well as working to support Government in improving support for smaller businesses, members of the Forum are also leading work to enable survivors of slavery to rebuild their lives through access to employment opportunities and employability training as well as essential services like bank accounts.

Preventing and Addressing Modern Slavery in Public Sector Supply Chains

2.87 The UK Government is committed to preventing and addressing modern slavery in public sector supply chains. The supplier Selection Questionnaire, which all Government departments use to select bidders for public contracts above relevant EU thresholds, excludes all bidders who have been convicted of child labour or human trafficking offences in the last five years. The Selection Questionnaire also features a discretionary exclusion question for suppliers to declare whether they have published a ‘slavery and human trafficking statement’ if they come under the relevant criteria.

2.88 The Government has published a Supplier Code of Conduct to make clear the standards and behaviours that are expected of suppliers when they work with government. In June 2018, the Cabinet Office announced that the Government’s biggest suppliers will be required to provide data and action plans for how they plan to address key social issues, including modern slavery.

2.89 The Home Office, Cabinet Office and the Crown Commercial Service (CCS) will develop further guidance to support contracting authorities to identify, and mitigate against modern slavery risks in supply chains during procurement processes. The Home Office, CCS, BEIS, FCO, DfID and HMRC have piloted a detailed Modern Slavery Assessment Tool with almost 200 suppliers to gain more information about supply chains and to inform the Government’s approach to working with suppliers to manage risks. Building on the pilot, the Home Office consulted with suppliers, contracting authorities, businesses and NGOs to refine and strengthen the tool and will make the tool accessible to a range of public bodies.

2.90 In Wales, the ‘Ethical Employment in Supply Chains Code of Practice’ was introduced in March 2017 with accompanying guidance to support the development of more ethical supply chains involved in delivering publicly funded contracts. The Director of the Labour Market Enforcement in the UK Labour Market Enforcement Strategy 2018/19 sighted the ‘Code of Practice’ and recommended it be evaluated for effectiveness to inform any further developments that might be made by CCS in collaboration with the Welsh Government, and to determine whether wider roll-out would be beneficial.

Addressing Modern Slavery in the Global Economy

2.91 The UK is the first country in the world to require businesses to report on the steps they are taking to prevent modern slavery in their supply chains and we have been championing global action on supply chains internationally. The Government has worked with international partners to strengthen and harmonise international governments’ approach to eradicating modern slavery from economies and to achieve the vision of the UN Sustainable Development Goal 8.7. Building on the Prime Minister’s Call to Action to End Modern Slavery, the UK jointly launched the ‘Principles to Guide Government Action to Combat Human Trafficking in Global Supply Chains’ with the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand at the UN General Assembly in September 2018. These Principles commit endorsing countries to:

• 1.  Take steps to prevent and address human trafficking in Government procurement practices;
• 2.  Encourage the private sector to prevent and address human trafficking in its supply chains;
• 3.  Advance responsible recruitment policies and practices; and
• 4. Strive for legal and policy harmonisation.

2.92 The UK will participate in annual meetings with other countries that endorse these Principles to coordinate efforts on implementation.

Modern Slavery at the Border

2.93 Victims who are trafficked will often cross UK borders. Border Force is in the unique position of being the first point of contact with UK authorities for many potential victims and the criminals who traffic them. Border Force therefore has a role in identifying victims and perpetrators as they arrive in the UK and preventing modern slavery from taking place.

2.94 Following the Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration 2016 report on Border Force’s identification and treatment of potential victims of modern slavery, a re-inspection carried out in January 2018 highlighted significant progress. Key areas of work included improving awareness of risk profiles and campaigns to improve industry and public awareness of modern slavery. This included communications materials visible in all UK ports and collaboration with the NGO Unseen to ensure that information regarding the Modern Slavery Helpline is displayed at arrival points in the UK.

2.95 To add to the learning around identifying indicators, Border Force created a process by which airline crew who spot indicators of modern slavery can alert Border Force using the Modern Slavery Helpline. Border Force aims to increase the number of referrals from airlines into its national command centre so that frontline officers have the most up to date information and intelligence available.

2.96 In the year ending 31 March 2018 Border Force identified more than 1,100 potential victims, representing a significant rise on the previous year when just under 500 were identified. Border Force referrals into the National Referral Mechanism (NRM) also increased over the same period. Operational intensifications, both independently and under Project AIDANT, as well as better staff awareness, account for this rise.

2.97 All frontline Border Force officers have been trained to spot the indicators of modern slavery and make referrals to the NRM. Border Force also has a network of specially trained Safeguarding and Modern Slavery officers based across all regions. These officers receive a minimum of three days classroom training for the role. The specialist officers are focused on the identification of potential victims at the border, providing an enhanced level of immediate support, and working with the police and other agencies to protect vulnerable passengers from modern slavery and other harmful practices, such as Female Genital Mutilation and child sexual exploitation.

Overseas Domestic Workers

2.98 The UK Government recognises that overseas domestic workers are potentially vulnerable to exploitation and has introduced a number of additional protections for this group.

2.99 In 2015, the Government commissioned James Ewins QC to undertake an independent review of the visa arrangements for overseas domestic workers. Mr Ewins made two principal recommendations: that overseas domestic workers should be able to change employer and extend their stay in the UK for a further two years; and that all overseas domestic workers in the UK for over 42 days should be invited to attend a meeting to inform them of their rights and protections.

2.100 In response to the review, the Government committed to introducing a series of further protections for overseas domestic workers. From 6 April 2016, those admitted as overseas domestic workers have been able to change employer during the six-month visa period; and those found to be victims of slavery or human trafficking have been able to extend their stay for two years. Changes were also made to ensure that those who are referred to the NRM within the validity of their initial six-month visa will be able to continue working while their case is considered. The Government is working hard to empower overseas domestic workers, by providing information regarding their rights in the UK. It has also committed to introducing an employer register which will require anyone wishing to sponsor a domestic worker to agree to honour their obligations under UK employment and Modern Slavery legislation with consequences for any failure to do so.

The Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner

Part 4 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 established the role of an Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner (IASC). The Commissioner has a UK-wide remit, and spearheads the fight against modern slavery with a two-fold aim: to see an increase in the number of victims of modern slavery identified and referred to appropriate support; and to see an increase in the numbers of prosecutions and convictions of traffickers and slave-masters.

Kevin Hyland OBE served as the UK’s first Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner until July 2018. Building on the achievements highlighted in the Commissioner’s second Annual Report 2016-2017, his work has included:

Supporting victims:

• Advised the Government on the roll-out of a reformed NRM, including digitisation of NRM referrals.
• Worked with the Home Office and partners to update the Trafficking Survivor Care Standards, and provided support to the development of a comprehensive and independent inspection regime for government-funded safe houses.
• Set up a Child Trafficking Advisory Group to better understand and promote the needs of child victims of trafficking, as well as work with Government and partners to ensure the smooth roll-out of the Independent Child Trafficking Advocates in England and Wales, the Child Guardianship scheme in Scotland and the Independent Guardian scheme in Northern Ireland.
• Engaged with trade unions to ensure understanding and recognition of modern slavery in the workforce, and promoted better victim identification and worker empowerment.

Building capacity and ensuring greater collaboration:

• Liaised with the judiciary in Northern Ireland and Scotland to develop modern slavery training, following a similar initiative in England and Wales 2016-17, in partnership with the International Bar Association.
• Worked with the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA) and the Northern Ireland Local Government Association to develop guidance for local council staff to recognise and respond to modern slavery.
• Collaborated with The Rights Lab at the University of Nottingham, with the support of the Wales Anti-Slavery Leadership Group and the Home Office, to develop an online Partnerships Toolkit to support the work of anti-slavery partnerships across the UK.

Transparency in Supply Chains:

• Provided advice to Government on improving corporate compliance with Section 54 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015, and how to evaluate compliance levels, in addition to embedding such concerns within public procurement processes.
• Advised the Scottish Government on its guidelines for businesses on slavery risk within supply chains.
• Improved investor understanding of, and engagement with, modern slavery and the requirements of Section 54 to ensure shareholders of listed companies can scrutinise corporate activity and improve compliance.
• Raised awareness of recruitment fees as a key driver of debt bondage in supply chains through articles, industry events and corporate engagement.
• Partnered with the Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply to educate procurement professionals about modern slavery risk within supply chains and possible steps to address it.
• Directly engaged with FTSE 100 and FTSE 250 companies which have failed to comply with Section 54 to raise awareness of their obligations and ensure future compliance.
• Published a report assessing compliance rates and quality of Section 54 statements in the UK agriculture sector.
• Provided advice to a range of relevant non-governmental initiatives to strengthen the corporate response to modern slavery, including work with Seafish, the Chartered Institute of Building, Shiva Foundation, the Ethical Trading Initiative and the British Retail Consortium.

Building the evidence base:

• Published research on multi-agency anti-slavery partnerships across the UK, in collaboration with The Rights Lab at the University of Nottingham, on the number and nature of existing partnerships and good practice in multi-agency partnership working.
• Conducted research into the nature and level of exploitation within hand car washes to understand and address the prevalence of modern slavery.
• Received evidence and information briefings from civil society organisations representing victims of human trafficking for labour exploitation through the Labour Exploitation Advisory Group.

Tackling modern slavery internationally:

Ensured that modern slavery continues to be a global priority at international events, including at the Commonwealth Summit 2018.

Developed and built on relationships with regional and international organisations, such as the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), as well as key partner countries, e.g. France.

Advised other nations on developing modern slavery legislation, both bilaterally and through the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association.

Prepare

2.101 Prepare activity is focused on reducing the harm caused to victims of modern slavery as a result of their exploitation. This includes work to identify and support potential victims through the National Referral Mechanism (NRM) – the process by which the UK Government identifies and supports potential victims of modern slavery.

2.102 The Government’s vision for the NRM is that it operates as a ‘bridge’ that lifts victims out of situations of exploitation, providing them with a short period of intensive support and specialist care, so that they are in a position to rebuild their lives, free from exploitation.

2.103 In October 2017, the UK Government announced a significant and ambitious package of reforms to the NRM, which will make a tangible difference to the experience of modern slavery victims by supporting their recovery and increasing their resilience to future exploitation. The reforms are focused around four key objectives:

• Quicker, more certain and credible decision- making.
• Improved support for victims – before, during and after the NRM.
• Improved identification of victims of modern slavery.
• Addressing the specific vulnerabilities of children.

2.104 To achieve quicker and more certain decision-making, that stakeholders and victims have confidence in, Government will:

• Create a single, expert competent authority unit in the Home Office to handle all NRM cases and provide high quality, timely decisions for victims. This will replace the current competent authorities in the NCA and UKVI and will be separate from the immigration system.
• Set up an independent panel of experts to review all negative conclusive grounds decisions, adding significantly to the scrutiny such cases already receive.
• Build a new digital system to support the NRM process, making it easier for those on the front line to refer victims for support and enabling data to be captured and analysed to better aid prevention and law enforcement.

2.105 To improve support for adult victims before, during and after the NRM in England and Wales, Government will:

• Extend the ‘move-on’ period of support (when victims have a conclusive grounds decision) from 14 to 45 days for confirmed victims of modern slavery and from two days to nine days for those individuals with a negative decision.
• Provide weekly ‘drop-in hubs’ for all confirmed victims with leave to remain in the UK, for up to six months after leaving support to aid the transition back in to society.
• Work with local authorities to develop and disseminate best practice for victims to transition into a community and access local services.
• Introduce minimum standards of care in all future contracts providing support to adult victims of modern slavery and an associated inspection regime based on the Human Trafficking Foundation’s Trafficking Survivor Care Standards.
• Lay regulations under Section 50 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015, and issue statutory guidance under Section 49 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015, setting out the support to which victims are entitled.
• Create ‘places of safety’ to ensure that adults leaving immediate situations of exploitation have a safe place to go for up to three days where they can access assistance and advice while they decide on whether to the enter the NRM.
• Align the subsistence rates for potential victims of modern slavery with those received by asylum seekers.

2.106 To improve identification of victims of modern slavery, Government will:

• Strengthen the first responder role including the criteria used to establish who should be a first responder and how they should be trained.

2.107 To improve support to child victims of modern slavery, Government will:

• Continue with the national rollout of Independent Child Trafficking Advocates (ICTAs) across England and Wales to make sure trafficked children have a voice and someone to advocate for them on their behalf.
• Explore how best to make the NRM decision-making process more ‘child- friendly’ including looking at how NRM decisions are communicated to children.

2.108 The delivery of the reform programme is a key priority for the Government and work is underway to ensure that there is robust evaluation across the strands of activity. Over the past year, significant progress has been made to build the infrastructure required for these ambitious reforms to be implemented by April 2020. Some of the key highlights and ongoing activity include:

• The appointment of a supplier to build the digital referral and case-work system and to ensure that it meets the needs of case-workers and first responders when it is rolled out.
• Work with the Children’s Task and Finish Group, a group of child trafficking experts from across civil society and international organisations, to explore how to make the NRM process more ‘child-friendly’.
• The completion of a review of existing training for first responders to inform consultation on their training needs.
• The appointment of an interim head of the new single competent authority who will oversee the bringing together of the new competent authority in the Home Office.
• A public appointments process has been launched to identify 10 individuals who will chair independent multi-agency assurance panels. These panels will ensure fairness and consistency in the NRM decision- making process.
• Work with the Human Trafficking Foundation and their partners to update the Trafficking Survivor Care Standards.
• Work to procure the next iteration of the Victim Care Contract, which will include ‘places of safety’ and ‘drop-in hubs’. Government is working with NGOs across the modern slavery sector to identify best practice and learning to shape the provision within the contract.
• Distribution of over £1 million from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government’s (MHCLG) Controlling Migration Fund to six local authorities to test how best to support victims as they exit NRM services and move into local communities.
• Publication of interim findings^{[footnote 39]} of the Government’s assessment of the ICTA service after 12 months in the early adopter sites, and an announcement of a £2 million extension which will see a revised ICTA model rolled out to one third of local authorities in England and Wales by April 2019, beginning with the West Midlands in October 2018.

2.109 The reform programme will be fully implemented by April 2020. In addition to the reform programme, the Government continues to both provide and improve support for adult and child victims.

Support for Adult Victims

2.110 Across the UK, victims of modern slavery and human trafficking are provided with specialist support and advocacy to assist them in rebuilding their lives and reintegrating into local communities following exploitation. While the NRM decision- making is delivered by a central mechanism, victim support is devolved, with different arrangements in place in England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

England and Wales

2.111 Since July 2011, the UK Government has funded a specialist Victim Care Contract for adult victims of modern slavery in England and Wales. The contract is currently delivered through The Salvation Army, and provides secure accommodation, financial support, advocacy services and access to legal aid and medical care through 12 specialist subcontractors.

2.112 Support through the Victim Care Contract is available to all adult victims who are referred to the NRM and receive a positive reasonable grounds decision, and their dependants. The support is available for a minimum of 45 days and until a conclusive grounds decision about their victim status has been made. Following a conclusive grounds decision, victims are supported to move into local communities, or return to their country of origin.

2.113 In the financial year 2017/18, 1,855 adults entered the specialist support provided through the Victim Care Contract. This figure is lower than the total adult NRM referral numbers because not all potential victims referred to the NRM wish to access support, many referrals are for children who are supported by local authorities, or the potential victims receive a negative reasonable grounds decision and are therefore not entitled to receive support.

2.114 In addition to The Salvation Army’s support services, in Wales, a ‘Survivor Care Pathway’ provides an individual plan for potential victims from the beginning of the NRM support period and beyond if necessary. The Pathway uses the Multi- Agency Risk Assessment Conference (MARAC) process which brings together all partners to ensure that the best possible support is provided to victims of slavery.

2.115 Over the last year, the UK Government has addressed a number of key issues for victims who are leaving NRM support which sit outside of the NRM reform package. For example, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) established a ‘supported handover’ between safe-houses and jobcentres, and improved awareness amongst frontline staff so that victims are identified and given timely support from the benefit system. DWP continues to work closely with the Home Office and other government departments along with organisations such as The Salvation Army to ensure that this support continues to meet the needs of victims.

2.116 MHCLG is working to improve understanding of the links between modern slavery and homelessness, including making specific reference to modern slavery in the Rough Sleeping Strategy. The Government will host a roundtable by the end of 2018 with homelessness and anti-slavery organisations to bring together experts on these issues at a national level and identify opportunities to build on the work of regional anti-slavery networks.

Support for Adult Victims - Scotland

2.117 Support for adult victims in Scotland is provided by two specialist NGOs – Trafficking Awareness Raising Alliance (TARA) and Migrant Help. These organisations are funded by the Scottish Government to provide safe house support and assistance to suspected adult victims of human trafficking and exploitation. TARA supports adult female victims of trafficking for commercial sexual exploitation; Migrant Help supports all other adult victims.

Case Study: Adult Victim

In December 2017, a Romanian victim was trafficked to Scotland for the purpose of sexual exploitation. The victim initially travelled to Scotland in the belief she was visiting for a holiday. She was then transported to an address in Glasgow city centre by traffickers where she was assaulted multiple times, threatened and forced into prostitution just three days after her arrival. The property was secured with a front door lock, and she was unable to leave. The victim eventually escaped and contacted police when the traffickers were intoxicated and left the front door open.

She was placed in the care of TARA who provided full support. A risk assessment was conducted and the victim was repatriated to Romania where she was supported by the Romanian organisation ANITP that assists victims of modern slavery and human trafficking. On returning home she contacted TARA and thanked them for their help, as well as the police for their investigation. The victim was reunited with her young son, was provided with accommodation and she is currently looking for work.

2.118 Over the course of 2017/18, Migrant Help supported 167 potential victims, and TARA supported 69.

2.119 The statutory period of support for adult victims in Scotland came into force on 1 April 2018 with the minimum period of support doubling to 90 days. At the same time, support for victims of the offence under Section 4 of the Act (slavery, servitude and forced or compulsory labour) was also placed on a statutory footing. These changes were agreed unanimously in Parliament and were welcomed by victim support organisations and the Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner. Potential victims in Scotland can also receive support on a non-statutory basis from TARA and Migrant Help both before a reasonable grounds decision and after the 90 day period. This is based on a case by case assessment.

2.120 On 2 April 2018, the former Cabinet Secretary for Justice announced an increase in funding for TARA and Migrant Help. The Scottish Government established a three year funding agreement with both bodies to provide stability and assurance. Over the next three years TARA and Migrant Help will share over £3 million to provide support and assistance to victims of human trafficking and exploitation. This is a significant increase and complements the increase in the period of support, as well as the increase in victims being referred to the NRM in Scotland.             

2.121 The Scottish Government also funds psychological trauma care for trafficking victims through the NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde service The Anchor.

Support for Adult Victims - Northern Ireland

2.122 In line with requirements under the EU Directive and Human Trafficking and Exploitation (Criminal Justice and Support for Victims) Act (Northern Ireland) 2015, Migrant Help is contracted by the Northern Ireland Department of Justice (DoJ) to provide support to adult potential male victims of modern slavery, and Belfast and Lisburn Women’s Aid is contracted to provide support to adult potential female victims of modern slavery. Support is made available from the point that a referral is made to the NRM, or in cases where an immediate referral cannot be made but where a referral is imminent (i.e. when potential victims are recovered at night during a police operation).

2.123 Support is available to all potential victims until either there are no longer reasonable grounds to believe that the person is a victim of modern slavery, or there has been a conclusive determination that they are or are not a victim of modern slavery. In cases where there is a positive determination that there are reasonable grounds to suspect the individual is a victim, support will continue to be made available during a 45-day reflection and recovery period. After this point, the individual would transition to mainstream access to the welfare system as required, subject to the individual’s leave to remain in the country.

2.124 The type of assistance and support provided to potential victims includes practical support such as safe accommodation, translation services and assistance in obtaining healthcare services, as well as assistance in obtaining legal advice/ representation or, where appropriate, help with repatriation.

2.125 The table below details the numbers of adult male and female potential victims supported by the Northern Ireland DoJ’s contracted support providers (currently Migrant Help, and Belfast and Lisburn Women’s Aid).

Table 31: Total number of supported adult potential victims 

	2017	January 2018 - end of June 2018
Male	13	3
Female	18	15
Totals	31	18

Support for Child Victims - England and Wales

2.126 In England and Wales, support for child victims is primarily provided by the relevant children’s services department within the local authority under existing statutory child protection arrangements. These are the primary service providers for safeguarding and responding to the needs of a child victim of modern slavery.

2.127 Over the last year, the UK Government has continued to develop its support for child victims in England and Wales. In November 2017, the Department for Education (DfE) published revised and expanded statutory guidance for local authorities caring for unaccompanied migrant children and child victims of modern slavery.^{[footnote 40]}

2.128 The UK Government is making 1,000 training places available for foster carers and support workers caring for Unaccompanied Asylum-Seeking Children (UASC), including those at high risk of going missing or being re-trafficked.

2.129 The UK Government is also developing information for UASC on what it means to be looked after in the UK, what their rights are, and the support they will receive.

2.130 Police have been piloting a new approach to ensure that any UASC encountered by the police will have their biometric information (photographs and fingerprints) captured. Twelve police forces are now rolling out this process and Hertfordshire Police is one of the forces that has successfully piloted a standardised UASC encounter process. The information captured through the biometrics allows for missing children to be easily identifiable if found and is also used to help support investigations into missing episodes.

Independent Child Trafficking Advocates (ICTAs)

2.131 Independent Child Trafficking Advocates (ICTAs) are an additional resource to provide specialist support for trafficked children. They are an independent source of advice and support for trafficked children who can advocate on their behalf. On 30 January 2017, the ICTA service went live in 36 local authorities spanning three early adopter sites (Hampshire, Greater Manchester, and Wales) as part of the Government’s commitment to national rollout. The Home Office has been working closely with Barnardo’s (the service provider) to deliver the ICTA service. The Home Office recently published interim findings^{[footnote 41]} from an assessment of the running of the sites in the first year of service.

2.132 In light of the growing evidence picture and as part of the Government’s commitment to supporting child trafficking victims, on 30 July 2018 (World Day against Trafficking in Persons) the Government announced that it will invest an additional £2 million into extending the ICTA service to more areas, starting with the West Midlands in October 2018. This means that by spring 2019, one third of all local authorities in England and Wales will have an ICTA service. The extension will trial a revised model of the ICTA provision. It will continue to provide one-to-one support for unaccompanied children but will also provide an ICTA regional co-ordinator who will take on a strategic role, working with professionals who are supporting trafficked children.

Case Study: Independent Child Trafficking Advocates

Sian Humphreys is an ICTA working for Barnardo’s in North Wales. Her role enables the children’s voices to be heard as well as helping other agencies to understand and learn how to support such vulnerable children in the best way possible.

Recently Sian has been supporting a 16-year-old child from North Africa, Z, who was linked to organised criminal gangs in Spain and London. Z was located in North Wales but the ICTAs within the Wales hub had concerns that members of the gang were looking for him, so Sian worked with children’s services to identify a more secure placement. Since then, Z has remained safely in placement and is settled. The police investigation into the criminal gangs who trafficked Z is ongoing.

Sian has also successfully raised awareness, and delivered specialist training to communities and professionals. This has resulted in more NRM referrals and therefore more children being safeguarded as a result.

Sian’s dedication and drive to upskill other professionals in North Wales was recognised in July 2018 when she was presented with the Anti-Slavery Champion award by the Police and Crime Commissioner for North Wales, for raising awareness of modern slavery across the region.

Child Trafficking Protection Fund

2.133 The UK Government has continued to test innovative ways to support trafficked children through the Child Trafficking Protection Fund (CTPF). The fund works with seven organisations to protect vulnerable children at risk of trafficking in both the UK and overseas. The projects cover a range of proposals including tailored support for trafficking victims from various cultures, developing skills and expertise in local areas, and a specialist accommodation pilot.

• Coram Children’s Legal Centre, in partnership with UNICEF Vietnam, is researching the dynamics of child modern slavery in Vietnam. Lessons from this are being used to design and deliver inter- agency capacity building in Vietnam, and develop strategies for legal, policy and practice reform.
• ECPAT UK is providing a specialist consultancy service to improve the ability of four local authorities to identify and support child trafficking victims.
• International Organization for Migration (IOM) is delivering culturally tailored training for foster carers looking after trafficked Vietnamese and Albanian children in the London Borough of Croydon.
• Unseen is piloting an innovative model of specialist accommodation for trafficked children in Bristol.
• AFRUCA is providing therapeutic care for trafficked African children including victims who have experienced ‘juju’ witchcraft.
• Barnardo’s is trialling group-based therapeutic support to internally trafficked children who are victims of exploitation such as child sexual exploitation across West Yorkshire, and is working with local authorities to improve early identification of exploitation.
• The Children’s Society is providing one- to-one and group therapeutic support to trafficked Albanian and Vietnamese boys in London.

Case Study: Unseen Specialist Accommodation Pilot

Unseen received funding through the CTPF to pilot an accommodation and support service for unaccompanied trafficked children. The project offers a family-focused home environment combined with additional security features to ensure that children do not go missing or become vulnerable to re-trafficking. Children are referred from across the UK, and receive specialist support from a range of professionals. They live with ‘house parents’ whose role is to provide a stable, supportive family environment for the children whilst in their care.

While encouraging referrals into the project has been tricky, the project has seen early success with Adam. Adam has settled in well to his new home. As well as being supported to attend doctor, dentist and legal appointments, he is encouraged to take part in both in-house and external activities to improve his wellbeing. He enjoys taking part in many sports sessions including boxing, swimming and badminton. He has attended sessions on safe relationships, language classes and cooking workshops, all tailored to his individual needs. He is attending a local youth club and has made lots of new friends. This is improving his confidence, reducing feelings of isolation and enabling him to form new relationships, all of which are reducing his vulnerability to re-trafficking and helping his recovery.

Unseen continues to work with local authorities and other agencies to help professionals understand the importance of finding appropriate placements for trafficked children to prevent them from going missing.

Support for Child Victims – Scotland

2.134 In Scotland, local authorities have responsibility for providing support to child victims of trafficking under existing child protection and children’s services legislation.^{[footnote 42]} This support is given regardless of the form of abuse suffered. The necessary support for children is already set out in the National Guidance for Child Protection in Scotland 2014 and the Getting It Right for Every Child (GIRFEC) framework.

2.135 The Human Trafficking and Exploitation (Scotland) Act 2015 contains provisions to ensure that children who have been trafficked are appointed an Independent Child Trafficking Guardian, where there is no person in the UK who has parental rights or responsibilities in relation to the child. The Independent Child Trafficking Guardians assist, support and represent the child. These provisions are not yet in force. The Scottish Government continues to fund the Aberlour Child Care Trust and the Scottish Refugee Council to operate the Scottish Guardianship Service for all separated children, including those who may have been trafficked. This non-statutory provision will remain in place until the statutory provision is enacted. The Scottish Government intends to consult on roles and responsibilities of Independent Child Trafficking Guardians in the near future.

2.136 In 2018/19 the Scottish Government agreed to increase the funding for The Anchor by 65% to over £115,000 to reflect the increasing number of referrals to the service and to assist with childcare costs.

2.137 The Scottish Guardianship Service has secured, through Aberlour, a funding award of £150,000 over three years from Comic Relief as an additional resource to support unaccompanied asylum-seeking children and child victims of trafficking.

Support for Child Victims – Northern Ireland

2.138 Article 21 of the Human Trafficking and Exploitation (Criminal Justice and Support for Victims) Act (Northern Ireland) 2015 places a requirement on the Regional Health and Social Care Board to enable an Independent Guardian to assist, represent and support a child for whom an NRM referral has been or is about to be made, or for a separated child. The Independent Guardian Service became fully operational in Northern Ireland on 1 April 2018. Independent Guardians must act in the best interests of the child, are trained to Office of Immigration Services Commissioner (OISC) Level 2 competence, and under regulation are certified to provide advice on immigration and asylum matters.

2.139 In June 2018, the Health and Social Care Board and PSNI issued regional operational guidance on Working Arrangements for the Welfare and Safeguarding of Child Victims and Potential Child Victims of Human Trafficking and Modern Slavery. The guidance was developed in discussion with the Northern Ireland DoJ and the Northern Ireland Department of Health (DoH). Associated guidance was further issued in June 2018 on Working Arrangements for the Welfare and Safeguarding of Unaccompanied and Separated Children and Young People.

International

2.140 Modern slavery is a crime that knows no borders. As a global issue, it requires a comprehensive international response. There were an estimated 40 million people trapped in modern slavery worldwide in 2016.^{[footnote 43]} Under the auspices of the Prime Minister’s Implementation Taskforce, the UK continues to demonstrate international leadership, driving action towards the long-term ambition of eradicating modern slavery.

2.141 The UK Government works with a range of partners to both engage bilaterally with those countries from which the UK receives the highest numbers of victims, and to push for change on a global scale by working with other countries and multilateral fora such as the G7, G20, Commonwealth and UN.

Collaborating with source countries to eradicate modern slavery in the UK

2.142 According to NRM statistics, potential victims from 116 different countries were identified in the UK in 2017. This demonstrates why it is essential to work with other countries in order to strengthen collective understanding and tackle modern slavery taking place in the UK.

2.143 In 2018, the UK Government has continued to engage with source countries from which a high number of vulnerable people are exploited and trafficked into the UK, and has drawn on its network of experts from the Home Office, NCA, CPS, Immigration Enforcement, Border Force, DFID and FCO. The Home Office has also continued to use its dedicated £33.5 million Modern Slavery Fund to develop programmes to build the capacity of partner countries to tackle modern slavery. Some examples of this work include:

• The launch of a policy dialogue on modern slavery around the Memorandum of Understanding between the UK Government and the Republic of Albania to increase cooperation on prevention, prosecution and victim identification and support.
• An information campaign in Poland conducted by NCA and the British Embassy in Warsaw to educate local authorities, children and potential victims about the threat of exploitation using an advice centre in a red double-decker bus.
• An awareness raising campaign aimed at the Lithuanian community in Cambridgeshire in conjunction with Cambridgeshire Police, Stop the Traffik and Barclays. This included an English and Lithuanian language social media campaign and training on spotting and reporting the signs of slavery, which reached over 250,000 individuals in the area.

Building partnerships to eradicate modern slavery globally

2.144 No country can eradicate modern slavery alone and there is no “one size fits all” approach to addressing this crime. There are numerous forms of exploitation and each country has its own drivers and challenges. However, there are essential elements that should underpin a strong and effective national response. The UK is continuing to build partnerships with countries to identify where Government’s assistance can have the greatest impact and the FCO has mobilised the UK’s diplomatic network to identify options for cooperation. This includes sharing the UK’s experience and legislation, helping identify which sectors of the economy face the biggest challenges, and providing advice and capacity building to address specific issues, for example law enforcement co-operation and victim support.

2.145 The UK’s international efforts to fight slavery are supported by a £200 million UK Aid commitment, an increase of £50 million announced by the Secretary of State for International Development in September 2018. This includes a dedicated £11 million Modern Slavery Innovation Fund, which is investing in new and innovative projects designed to increase the knowledge and evidence base needed to tackle modern slavery internationally. It also includes a £20 million commitment to the Global Fund to End Modern Slavery, matching the US commitment. UK-funded projects are focused on reducing vulnerability to exploitation, addressing the permissive environments that enable the criminality of modern slavery to thrive, and supporting business to employ innovative approaches to eradicate exploitation in their supply chains.

Case Study: Nigeria Communications Pilot

This pilot was a four-month strategic communications campaign in early 2018 commissioned by the Home Office and delivered by a social enterprise. It was targeted at Nigerian women and girls at risk of becoming victims of domestic servitude in the UK. The campaign challenged positive perceptions of house help opportunities in the UK, with the aim of reducing the number of people pursuing opportunities which might lead to domestic servitude.

The campaign reached, and in some instances exceeded, its targets. 97% of those sampled viewed domestic servitude opportunities in the UK negatively after a consultation with a campaign ‘Word of Mouth’ adviser, and most (88%) retained this view when contacted several weeks or months after the campaign’s completion. Almost 2,000 individuals changed their attitudes following a consultation in such a way that may prevent them or their children from becoming victims of domestic servitude in the UK. The campaign reached a further 10,000 through community events, and over 2 million via radio content.

2.146 This partnership work includes EU countries. The UK is unconditionally committed to maintaining European security now and after its exit from the EU. The UK Government wants to maintain and build upon the existing strong relationships with other European countries. This includes continued coordination of efforts to prevent and combat modern slavery in common source countries and along trafficking routes to Europe. For instance, the UK and Dutch Governments co-hosted a roundtable on modern slavery for Official Development Assistance (ODA) donors, attended by key European partners such as France, Sweden, Belgium, Switzerland and Norway. The discussions focused on how to maximise impact of complementary interventions.

2.147 In addition, UK experts work worldwide to pursue offenders across borders. The NCA has a network of ILOs which cover the key source and transit countries for modern slavery connected to the UK, including EU countries. In addition, the CPS has over 25 senior prosecutors stationed around the world. These experts work closely with host country law enforcement and prosecution agencies to ensure the smooth sharing of information on live operations, improving the delivery of investigations, prosecutions and recovery of assets, as well as facilitating mutual legal assistance and extradition. For example, the CPS extradited a trafficker from the UK to Greece to stand trial for trafficking over 95 victims. Fifteen of his co-defendants have been convicted and sentenced to a total of 152 years in prison for their roles.

2.148 Finally, the NCA has continued to lead Europol’s EMPACT Trafficking in Human Beings Group, a group of law enforcement specialists tackling human trafficking across Europe. So far in 2018, at least 22 countries successfully participated in two separate pan-European weeks of operational activity coordinated by the UK. One focused on labour exploitation, working with labour inspectorates from across Europe including the UK GLAA, and another focused on child trafficking. These activities resulted in a total of 282 arrests for a variety of offences and 385 adults and 51 children identified as potential victims of trafficking as a result of both periods of activity. Northern Ireland and Scottish authorities are also working with the Romanian police service to investigate organised crime groups responsible for the trafficking of women across Europe for the purposes of sexual exploitation.

Multilateral engagement and international coordination to drive action to eradicate modern slavery globally

2.149 The UK is taking a leading international role to increase political will and drive action on the ground by working through the UN system, including the International Labour Organisation and UN Office on Drugs and Crime, the G7 and G20, and other multilateral fora. The UK also supports international organisations such as Alliance 8.7 to help build global consensus.

2.150 Over the last 12 months, the UK’s multilateral engagement has been shaped by the Call to Action to End Forced Labour, Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking that was launched by the Prime Minister at the UN General Assembly in September 2017. In the global effort to meet Agenda 2030, particularly Sustainable Development Goal targets 8.7, 5.2 and 16.2, the Call to Action is a political declaration on a set of common principles and approaches to use as the basis for country strategies and international action.

Case Study: The Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA)

The CPA UK Modern Slavery Project is a two-year project funded by the Home Office, providing practical advice and support to Commonwealth legislatures on combating modern slavery. The project aims to facilitate a greater understanding of the benefits of introducing modern slavery-related legislation and exchange learning. It is led by Commonwealth parliamentarians and senior officials, sharing good practice to support colleagues to strengthen both modern slavery-related legislation and wider national responses. This has delivered concrete results, for example the CPA project supported the development of a Private Member’s Bill in Pakistan, which built political support for the anti- trafficking law passed in May 2018.

2.151 Promoting the themes set out in the Call to Action has been a key priority throughout the UK’s multilateral engagement. In February 2018, the Minister for Crime, Safeguarding and Vulnerability participated in the Santa Marta Group conference, endorsed by Pope Francis, which brought together international police chiefs, bishops and civil society to improve the global response to modern slavery.

2.152 In April, at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, the Government convened Commonwealth partners to raise the profile of the issue and discuss opportunities for improving the law enforcement response and protect vulnerable groups such as women and girls. The UK announced £5.5 million of funding to support Commonwealth countries in tackling modern slavery, and a further £2 million to tackle online child sexual abuse. All Commonwealth members committed to tackle these issues in the Summit Communiqué.

2.153 In August, the Home Office produced a joint report with Canada for the Financial Action Taskforce (FATF) that identifies the financial flows and indicators associated with modern slavery and human trafficking. The report is the result of nine months work with financial institutions including the Joint Money Laundering and Intelligence Taskforce (JMLIT) and NGOs to identify the precise red flags that banks can use to spot trafficking in their databases. The report also includes guidance on how governments, law enforcement and financial institutions can work better together to spot and stop human trafficking.^{[footnote 44]}

2.154 Finally, throughout this year’s G7 and G20 processes, the UK has consistently raised the profile of modern slavery. This culminated in securing a strong set of outcomes agreed by all G7 Security Ministers, which included commitments to work with the private sector to eliminate modern slavery from supply chains, to strengthen procurement practices, and to tackle the illicit financial flows stemming from trafficking and improve data and evidence sharing. Support for this agenda by all G20 countries was supplemented in September 2018 by a commitment from G20 Labour and Employment Ministers to a range of measures to promote transparency in supply chains, including encouraging policies to prohibit recruitment fees.

Case Study: The Call to Action

At the international level, the Call to Action has brought together a group of committed governments who want to make the exploitation of human beings a thing of the past. At the country level, the Call to Action is a blueprint for national action, taking into account the varying contexts and priorities, and setting out the key policy areas to deliver tangible results in reducing people’s vulnerability to modern slavery, protecting victims, and bringing the perpetrators to justice.

The Call to Action now has over 80 endorsements and positive steps have been taken by countries on implementation. This progress was showcased at the UN General Assembly in September 2018 during an event hosted by the Secretary of State for International Development, where Ministers from the US, Australia, Canada, Bangladesh, Nigeria, Argentina and Bahrain outlined the steps they have taken to improve their own responses to modern slavery. For example, implementing stronger legal frameworks, improving awareness of worker rights, developing National Action Plans and setting up reporting hotlines.

The UK Government has also taken many steps to deliver on the Call to Action’s commitments. For example, the Director of Public Prosecutions hosted an international conference of senior prosecutors from 15 countries to identify tangible ways to step up prosecutions for modern slavery, including better collaboration and coordination between police and prosecutors, and increasing joint investigations to dismantle organised crime groups and seize illicit assets. The UK also co-hosted the first global donor coordination roundtable with the US in the margins of the IV Global Conference on Child Labour in November 2017. The UK, US, Australia, New Zealand and Canada also launched four Principles on the actions governments should take to combat modern slavery in global supply chains. The domestic steps the UK has taken to deliver on law enforcement, victim protection and supply chains are set out in detail in the other chapters of this report.

Table 32: Committed ODA programmes to tackle modern slavery since September 2017

Home Office Modern Slavery Fund

Programme	Location	Duration	Summary	Allocation
Modern Slavery Innovation Fund	Albania, Ethiopia, Ghana, India, Nigeria, Philippines, South Africa, Vietnam	2017-2021	Support to ten projects trialling innovative approaches	£11 million
Nigeria country programme	Nigeria	2017-2021	Criminal justice capacity-building, victim support and prevention work	£5 million
Vietnam country programme	Vietnam	2017-2021	Criminal justice capacity-building, victim support and prevention work	£3 million
Foreign Office-led projects	Bangladesh, DRC, India, Indonesia, Pakistan, Philippines, Sudan	2017-2021	Various projects including research, criminal justice capacity building and prevention	£2.5 million
Child Trafficking Protection Fund	UK and Vietnam	2017-2019	Support to seven projects protecting vulnerable children at risk of trafficking	£2.2 million

18-20 Commonwealth Fund

Programme	Location	Duration	Summary	Allocation
UN Office on Drugs and Crime (Home Office lead)	India, Sri Lanka, Zambia, Malawi	2018-2020	Criminal justice capacity building with four Commonwealth countries	£2 million
Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (Home Office lead)	Various Commonwealth countries	2018-2020	Support for Commonwealth parliamentarians to strengthen legislation and national action	£0.5 million
Ending child labour in the Commonwealth (DFID lead)	Various Commonwealth countries	2018-2020	Improve data, evidence and knowledge to support better interventions to tackle child labour and build capacity to end the practice in Commonwealth countries.	£3 million

Department for International Development programmes

Programme	Location	Duration	Summary	Allocation
Work in Freedom Programme – Phase 2	South Asia/Middle East	2018-2023	To support women and girls facing slavery and exploitation across South Asia and the Middle East	£13 million
Alliance 8.7 (Global Coalition)	Global	2018	Supporting IOM to advance the work of the Alliance 8.7 Action Group on Migration	£212,500
AAWAZ II: Inclusion, Accountability and Reducing Modern Slavery (programme component on the worst forms of child labour)	Pakistan	2018-2023	Support to tackle the challenges of child labour and modern slavery and strengthen the ability of the state to respond.	£4.7 million
Support to the Global Fund to End Modern Slavery (GFEMS)	India, Bangladesh	2018 -2021	Support to develop new and innovative approaches to tackling slavery.	£20 million
Stamping Out Slavery in Nigeria	Nigeria	2018 -2023	Support to strengthen slavery prevention work by both Government and NGOs.	£10 million
Protection, Rehabilitation and Reintegration support for Nigerian returnees from Libya	Nigeria	2018-2020	To support the rehabilitation and reintegration of victims of trafficking and vulnerable migrants, returned from horrendous conditions in detention in Libya.	£3 million
Protecting Children on the Move	Horn of Africa	2017-2020	To protect up to 400,000 boys and girls at risk of slavery in the Horn of Africa and along dangerous migratory routes in Somalia, Sudan and Ethiopia.	£10 million
Regional programme targeting the worst forms of child labour	Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Burma, India, Nepal, Pakistan	2018 -2023	To help reduce the vulnerability of children to bonded labour in hazardous industries and to clamp down on children being trafficked into commercial sex work.	£26 million
UK Aid Connect	Africa (various incl. DRC)	2018 -2021	To support vulnerable people in conflict affected and fragile parts of Africa – building the evidence base, educating children on the disguised risks of trafficking, improving law enforcement and supporting conflict- affected families in various countries.	£12 million
Preventing Child Labour	Bangladesh	2018-2022	Support the Government of Bangladesh to eliminate the worst forms of child labour by helping build the evidence base and pilot innovative approaches to protect the most vulnerable.	£5 million

Foreign and Commonwealth Office programmes

Programme	Location	Duration	Summary	Allocation
Magna Carta Fund – modern slavery element	Various countries	2018-19	Various projects, including scoping projects and prevalence studies, capacity building for law enforcement and support to National Action Plans	£1.9 million

Chapter 3: The UK’s Future Response

Introduction

3.01 All UK administrations have made significant progress in tackling this abhorrent crime in both the UK and internationally. However, new forms of exploitation have been identified, such as children being forced to commit crimes for gangs and the recruitment of vulnerable rough sleepers. Furthermore, whilst thousands of companies have implemented the requirements of the Act to tackle slavery through their supply chains, some are clearly falling behind. Therefore, the Government has commissioned an independent review of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 led by Frank Field MP, Maria Miller MP and Baroness Butler-Sloss to identify where the Act is working well and whether specific areas of the Act need to be strengthened. The Review will report in March 2019, and its recommendations will help steer the Government’s future response.

3.02 The Government is also in the process of appointing a new Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner, following the departure of Kevin Hyland OBE. Building on his achievements, the new appointee will continue to spearhead the fight against modern slavery across the UK to ensure that victims are identified and supported, and more perpetrators are brought to justice.

3.03 The UK’s future response will be under- pinned by the Government’s commitment to the security of Europe. The UK will continue to work with all European partners to share experience, and disrupt those criminals that seek to exploit vulnerable people.

England and Wales

Pursue

The UK will continue to build on the significant progress made by the Police Transformation Fund to ensure that traffickers are brought to justice via the criminal justice system and that victims are safeguarded. These efforts will form part of the Government’s refreshed Serious Organised Crime Strategy, with a strong focus on tackling all forms of exploitation and supporting victims.

Prevent

The prevention of modern slavery will remain a key element of the UK’s fight against this awful crime. Over the next year, the Government will use the cost of modern slavery research to refine its response, continue to run communications campaigns and ensure that policies are targeted towards those prevention activities that will be of most benefit to society.

Protect

The Government will write to UK businesses reiterating the action required on their parts to report under the Modern Slavery Act 2015. This, coupled with the creation of the ‘Tackling Modern Slavery in Supply Chains’ thematic group, will drive forward work to hold businesses to account. This will include sharing best practice and encouraging a deeper understanding of the risks businesses face from this crime, and the effect on its victims.

Prepare

Victim care will remain a priority over the next year and work will continue to reform the NRM. The Government will create a single competent authority who will have responsibility for all cases of modern slavery, including decisions around appropriate support for victims. An independent panel of experts will be convened to review all negative conclusive grounds decisions, and the NRM process will be digitalised to simplify the process of referring victims for frontline staff. An improved, digitalised dataset will also help inform Government’s policies on what works well, ensuring continuous improvements to its provision of care.

International

The UK Government will continue to drive the global response against modern slavery, working with other governments as well as public and private sector organisations and local communities. To cement the political will behind the Call to Action, the Government’s priority will be to push for improved implementation of these international frameworks both nationally and regionally. Where appropriate, the UK will collaborate with international partners to assist them to address their own specific challenges.

The UK will deliver on its UK Aid commitments. The Government will use its improved understanding of modern slavery and country-specific vulnerabilities to implement targeted programmes designed to reduce the incidence of modern slavery. The UK will continue to strengthen operational cooperation and political dialogue with key countries to prevent slavery, protect victims and pursue offenders. This will include maintaining and building upon the existing strong relationships with other European countries.

This global challenge needs a global solution, and the Government will continue to lobby in multilateral fora to ensure that the fight against modern slavery remains high on the international agenda. Next year, the UK will host Ministers from the UK’s closest security partners at the Five Country Ministerial (Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United States). There will also be annual meetings between those countries who have endorsed the Principles, to coordinate our efforts on implementation of the actions governments should take to combat modern slavery in global supply chains.

Wales

To tackle transparency in supply chains, the Wales Anti-Slavery Leadership Group working with the Welsh Government has launched the ‘Ethical Employment in Supply Chains – Code of Practice.’ The Director of the Labour Market Enforcement in the UK Labour Market Enforcement Strategy 2018/2019 sighted the ‘Code of Practice’ to be good practice and recommended it be evaluated for effectiveness to inform any further developments that might be made by the Crown Commercial Service (CSS) in collaboration with the Welsh Government, and to determine whether wider roll-out would be beneficial. Arrangements are in place for the evaluation to be made in Spring 2018.

Northern Ireland

Work is underway to develop a Modern Slavery Training Needs Analysis (TNA) for Northern Ireland, beginning with the Health and Social Services sector. It is intended that a focus group, comprising key representatives, will develop and implement a multi-agency Modern Slavery Training Plan, informed by the TNA. Training and awareness sessions will also be delivered to external agencies, the voluntary sector and local communities.

The NIE will provide training to public sector procurement practitioners in Northern Ireland in early 2019, aimed at delivering best practice in procurement and transparency in supply chains. This will cover codes of practice, a dashboard for monitoring performance, toolkits and an e-learning package.

Standards of victim support will be enhanced through re-procurement of Northern Ireland’s support contract.

Work is also underway on the Modern Slavery Strategy 2018-19, which includes proposed actions to implement duty to notify provisions in Northern Ireland, and to review organised crime legislation.

Scotland

In June 2018, the Scottish Government published its first annual progress report on implementation of the Human Trafficking and Exploitation Strategy.^{[footnote 45]} This sets out the range of work in Scotland to identify and protect victims, to disrupt trafficking activity, and to address the wider causes that lead to trafficking and exploitation.

The progress report also includes key priorities for 2018-19: establishing regional partnerships and learning events, further use of Trafficking and Exploitation Risk and Prevention Orders; work to improve uptake and quality of Slavery and Human Trafficking Statements by Scottish businesses; improving links and awareness of research related to trafficking in Scotland; and consultation on statutory Independent Child Trafficking Guardians. A further progress report will be published in 2019, and the Strategy will be reviewed within three years of its publication.

Over the next three years Migrant Help and TARA, both of whom provide support to victims of human trafficking, will share over £3 million to increase their care provision. This is a significant raise in funding and will assist them in ensuring that victims are supported for the increased period of 90 days, which was announced in April 2018. Funding for The Anchor psychological support service has also been increased.

Annex A: Modern slavery research priorities

Introduction

1.   Building the evidence base to support modern slavery policy priorities

This document summarises research priorities to support the UK’s response to tackling and preventing modern slavery. It aims to set out clearly the priority areas for research and analysis to improve the evidence base on which policy choices are made and target resources to the most important risks and vulnerabilities.

The questions outlined relate to our policy and operational priorities as set out in the Government’s Modern Slavery Strategy. Given the breadth of the UK’s policy agenda on modern slavery it is not possible to provide an exhaustive list of research questions and interests. Instead this is a targeted list of areas where we think the research community is well placed to build the evidence base, complementing the research and analysis carried out by Government. Given the evolving nature of modern slavery it is likely that our research priorities will develop over time, and this document will be refreshed as required.

The research priorities presented here have been developed to support academics, researchers and potential funders to design research that supports the Government’s policy and operational response to modern slavery, but research in these areas will also provide valuable evidence for businesses and other organisations with a role to play in tackling modern slavery.^{[footnote 46]} The Government has developed an evidence base through its own social and economic research, and research in response to the questions presented in this document will help build on the Government’s existing evidence base.

2. Government evidence and analysis on modern slavery

Within the Home Office and other Government departments, analysts work across a range of professions to carry out research and analysis to ensure that Ministers and officials have access to the best possible evidence. Key pieces of Home Office research on modern slavery have included the first scientific estimate of prevalence, ‘Modern Slavery – An Application of Multiple Systems Estimation, the development of ‘A Typology of Modern Slavery Offences’ and the recently published ‘The Economic and Social Cost of Modern Slavery’ report, which estimated the cost of modern slavery in the UK.

Through the modern slavery Innovation Fund (MSIF) the Home Office has also funded research on modern slavery including a new ‘Knowledge Platform’, Delta 8.7, launched by the United Nations University in September 2018 which gathers research from around the world to inform policy and practice on modern slavery.

The Government’s response to modern slavery is also informed by operationally sensitive analysis and intelligence from law enforcement agencies, including the Joint Slavery and Trafficking Analysis Centre (JSTAC) – a multi-agency intelligence hub hosted by the National Crime Agency (NCA).

3. Link to Serious and Organised Crime Research Priorities

The priorities outlined in this document have been identified in collaboration with a range of stakeholders including other Government departments. It should be noted that there may be some overlap between the priorities highlighted in this document and those outlined in Research Needs documents published by other parts of the Home Office or Government.

In particular, the Serious and Organised Crime Home Office Research Priorities document is due to be published shortly and is likely to be of interest to the modern slavery research community.

4. Building the modern slavery research community

There is a growing academic research community focussed on understanding and responding to modern slavery. A research report from the Office of the Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner and the University of Nottingham Rights Lab ‘Modern Slavery Research: the UK Picture’, published in April 2018, mapped the UK’s modern slavery research landscape and provided a useful summary of existing major research areas. The report also highlighted areas where further research and investigation would be valuable, many of which overlap with the research interests outlined in this document.

We acknowledge that researchers and academics will be undertaking modern slavery research in areas not outlined in this document and believe there is value in wide-ranging and diverse research in the area. However, the questions outlined in this document specifically reflect the research needs which closely relate to current policy priorities.

5. Taking a ‘typology’ approach to modern slavery research

Modern slavery is an umbrella term encompassing the offences of human trafficking, slavery and servitude and forced and compulsory labour and different ‘types’ of modern slavery require tailored policy and operational responses.

Building on the Home Office’s ‘Typology of Modern Slavery Offences in the UK’ report, we would particularly welcome research which considers the experiences and needs of people who experience modern slavery across different characteristics, including: age, gender, ethnic, religious, cultural, economic backgrounds and countries of origin.

6. Research standards

We recognise the ethical challenges and sensitivity in conducting research in this area. It is important that any research is conducted to a high ethical standard and adheres to the principles outlined in the Government Social Research Professional Guidance.

7. Thematic research areas

This document covers seven broad research themes which will help to build on the Government’s existing evidence base:

Preventing exploitation

• The risk and protective factors that make people or groups more, or less vulnerable to exploitation.
• The types of interventions most effective for different groups and individuals.
• Approaches to effectively targeting these interventions (when, how, where and through whom).

Preventing offending

• Motivations for committing modern slavery offences, factors that make people more or less likely to offend.
• The types of organisations, businesses or services that enable offending.
• The different people offenders come into contact with.

Improving outcomes for victims and survivors

• The needs of victims and survivors and how this varies across groups and individuals, and over time.
• The barriers to engaging victims and survivors.
• Successful approaches to achieving the right outcomes and measuring the effectiveness of support.

Child victims/survivors of modern slavery

In addition to the themes in the ‘improving outcomes for victims and survivors’ section which equally applicable to adults and children, these themes deal with issues which are specific to child victims.

• The nature and location of child trafficking in the UK.
• The best approaches to meet the needs of child victims.
• Reasons trafficked children go missing and the most effective interventions to prevent missing episodes.

Law enforcement and the criminal justice system

• The barriers to prosecutions under the Modern Slavery Act and the best way to support victims to engage in the criminal justice system process.
• The barriers to effective seizure of illicit profits made through modern slavery.
• The best approach to ensure victims receive adequate financial compensation through civil and criminal routes.
• The barriers and limitations to the statutory defence being used by genuine victims.

Tackling forced labour in supply chains

• The patterns of forced labour – within businesses and across supply chains.
• The most effective interventions in tackling forced labour in global supply chains and in the UK.
• Factors that influence businesses to act on and disclose modern slavery risks.

Scale and nature

• The ways different types of modern slavery and methods of trafficking and exploitation are evolving.
• The ways modern slavery manifests in different geographical locations.
• Proxy indicators that could tell how the scale of modern slavery in the UK is changing.
• The intersection between modern slavery and related forms of exploitation.

More detail on each area is available in the following section.

8. Key research questions

Preventing exploitation

Theme:

Understanding vulnerabilities and preventing exploitation

Research question:

Improving protection

• What can make people more vulnerable to trafficking and exploitation and what are the protective factors that can reduce these vulnerabilities?
• How can the risk of re-trafficking be reduced?

What works

• What interventions are most effective at preventing exploitation?

Points of contact

• How and where do people at risk of, or in, exploitative situations come into contact with people who can support them?

Detail:

To target prevention interventions we would like to further develop understanding of how to reduce vulnerability and build resilience to modern slavery among those at risk. We want to focus on:

• People – Who experiences modern slavery and trafficking?
• Places – Where does this happen (geographical locations, types of place)?
• Processes – How and what happens for different types of modern slavery?

Other areas of interest include the factors that create demand for services provided and the link between rough sleeping and vulnerability to (re)trafficking and modern slavery.

More research is needed to develop our evidence on the factors that make groups and individuals in particular locations more vulnerable to re-trafficking.

For example, we know that some people return to exploitative labour conditions after receiving support. We welcome research that develops our understanding of how to minimise this risk for people who experience modern slavery.

We want to better understand what works in different locations (including internationally) as well as for different groups and individuals. Research that considers ways to monitor and evaluate the impact of interventions would also be welcome.

To help us increase effectiveness of interventions, we welcome research on when, how, where and through whom to target interventions.

Preventing offending

Theme:

Understanding the pathways to modern slavery offending

Research question:

Motivation

• What are the different reasons people commit modern slavery offences?

Risk and deterrence factors

• What could make someone more or less likely to commit modern slavery offences?

Facilitators

• Across different types of modern slavery what are the key organisations and services that enable offending?

Points of contact

• Who do modern slavery offenders come into contact with, and where?

Detail:

To develop our understanding of the reasons people commit modern slavery offences, we would welcome research on different reasons someone might commit modern slavery offences, for example: financial gain, opportunism, the role of social and familial networks.

We would welcome research that builds the evidence base on what makes people more likely to commit modern slavery offences, for example, whether experiencing modern slavery or trafficking makes someone more likely to become a perpetrator of the same or other offences. Other risk and deterrence factors of interest include: geographical location, employment status, gender and contact with authorities.

To effectively target the potential enablers of the different types of modern slavery we need to better understand how offenders interact with key individuals, organisations, businesses and how the criminal business model operates. These might include websites, banks and money transfer services, landlords and recruitment services.

Of particular interest is who and how people come into contact with modern slavery offenders, and where this happens (geographically in the UK and internationally and in what types of places?). We want to understand how these people can be encouraged to report their concerns to authorities.

Improving outcomes for victims and survivors

Theme:

Designing services that meet the needs and improve outcomes for victims and survivors

Research question:

Variation in needs

• How does support needed vary for people who experience different types of modern slavery across types and over time?

Barriers to engagement

• What prevents people from engaging with support services and what happens to victims who do not access support?

Achieving the right outcomes

• How can desired outcomes for modern slavery survivors be achieved?

Measuring effectiveness

• How can we measure the effectiveness of support?

Detail:

To enable us to provide the most appropriate support to people who have experienced modern slavery we want to strengthen our understanding of survivors’ needs including:

• Specific types – Where there may be service gaps relating to specific modern slavery related vulnerabilities including victim/survivors mental and physical health needs.
• Survivor views – What do survivors think about the processes and systems they need to recover and reintegrate, whether that be in the UK or in their country of origin?
• Need over time – How does the support that survivors need differ in the short, medium and long- term?

We want to better understand the reasons why some individuals do not self-identify as exploited and how this varies across different groups.

We would welcome research on barriers and facilitators to achieving outcomes survivors want, including: return to country of origin, access to compensation, employment opportunities, integration into local communities and engagement in criminal justice system proceedings.

Measuring the effectiveness of support is challenging, given the challenges of following up with people who have experienced modern slavery after they leave support. We want to encourage research which takes an innovative approach to challenge of monitoring long- term outcomes both in the UK and overseas.

Child victims and survivors

Theme:

Understanding and meeting the needs of children who have experienced modern slavery.

Research question:

Overarching patterns

• How, where in the UK and why do children experience modern slavery?

Meeting children’s needs

• How can we ensure that statutory services best meet the needs of children who have experienced modern slavery?

Going missing

• Why do trafficked children go missing after engaging with services?

Preventing missing episodes

• What interventions are most effective in preventing missing incidents, and who should deliver these interventions?

Detail:

We want to build our existing evidence on how, why and where children are exploited. We are interested in children’s perspectives, role and agency within a range of exploitative situations (for example, instances where children are used in sexual exploitation and/or criminal exploitation, such as County Lines) and how this might change depending on time, gender, and age. We welcome approaches that engage children in the research process.

What are the specific trafficking-related support needs of children (including mental health provision as well as the type of support needed from the National Referral Mechanism, criminal justice system and immigration system)? We welcome research which considers how these needs vary for specific groups e.g. what are the needs of non-UK children supported in the UK when they turn 18?

We know that children are at risk of exploitation when they go missing from care. To develop our understanding we welcome more primary research on what prevents children from engaging with services and what triggers missing episodes including push / pull factors (e.g. type of care received, role of traffickers, fear of reprisals, debt bondage and use of social media).

More evidence is also needed to robustly assess the effectiveness of interventions including foster carer training programmes, multi-agency support and other new approaches being piloted.

Law enforcement and the criminal justice system

Theme:

Increasing prosecutions supporting victim/survivor engagement with the criminal justice system

Research question:

Increasing prosecutions and disruptions

• What are the barriers to offenders of modern slavery offences being prosecuted, under the Modern Slavery Act and or other legislation?

Assets seizure

• What are the barriers to effective seizure of illicit profits made through modern slavery?

Victim reparation

• Are victims receiving adequate financial compensation through civil and criminal routes?

Statutory defence

• What are the barriers and limitations to the statutory defence being used by genuine victims?^{[footnote 47]}

Detail:

We know that modern slavery is a difficult crime to investigate and criminal justice system proceedings are often protracted and complex. Building on our evidence base, we welcome research which considers:

• The best use of available powers to prosecute modern slavery offenders.
• How victims/survivors can be supported to remain engaged through length criminal justice system proceedings.
• How to increase the number of victimless prosecutions.

We would welcome research which looks at how the profits of modern slavery are laundered and considers how they can be seized.

There are specific powers in the Modern Slavery Act (Sections 8-10) to compensate victims, as well as wider asset seizure powers and civil compensation schemes. We want to develop our understanding of how these measures are working in practice and what could be done to improve uptake.

We want to understand more about how this provision is working in practice so that we can ensure an appropriate balance between the need to protect victims from criminal prosecution and preventing criminals from abusing this protection to avoid justice.

Tackling forced labour in supply chains

Theme:

What works to prevent, identify and tackle forced labour in supply chains?

Research question:

Business model

• What type of organisations use forced labour?

Patterns

• What are the patterns of forced labour in the supply chains of high- risk goods and services?

Interventions – what works?

• What types of interventions are most effective in tackling forced labour in global supply chains and in the UK?

Procurement practices

• What impact do specific procurement practices have on the risk of forced labour in supply chains?

Business behaviour

• What factors influence companies to act on and disclose modern slavery risks in their supply chains?

Detail:

As well as understanding more about the organisations that use forced labour (including their size, revenue flow and position within the supply chain) we would welcome more empirical studies, which systematically map the scale, nature and, drivers of forced labour in specific product or labour supply chains.

We would particularly welcome research that looks at high-risk labour-intensive sectors, often characterised by high levels of sub-contracting, use of seasonal employment and use of low-skilled labour.

To develop effective strategies to prevent forced labour and modern slavery in their supply chains, private and public- sector organisations need more evidence on:

• The effectiveness of interventions including social auditing, certification schemes, multi-stake- holder initiatives, ‘worker voice’ and reporting mechanisms and initiatives to prevent worker-paid recruitment fees.
• The impact of purchasing practices such as buying at the lowest cost or short timescales for contracts;
• The most effective regulatory approaches to preventing labour exploitation.

Factors of interest include the role of consumers, civil society and investors. We are particularly interested in research which considers how companies can be effectively encouraged to do more.

Scale and nature

Theme:

Emerging and predicted UK and international trends

Research question:

Evolving nature

• How are different types of modern slavery and methods of trafficking and exploitation evolving?

Geographical location

• How does, and will, modern slavery manifest in different geographical locations?

Scale and prevalence

• What are the proxy indicators that could tell how the scale of modern slavery in the UK is changing?

Intersections

• What is the intersection between modern slavery and related forms of exploitation?

Detail:

We welcome research on how the nature of types of modern slavery differs, that builds on the Home Office typology research. For example, the characteristics of victims and offenders of each type, how recruitment, transportation and exploitation differs between types and whether the amount of time before discovery varies by different types of modern slavery.

To ensure that our policy and programming response is targeted at current threats we want to build on our emerging understanding of forms of exploitation such as ‘orphanage trafficking’^{[footnote 48]} and ‘county lines’^{[footnote 49]} as well as the evolving modus operandi of offenders (e.g. the shift to online recruitment). We are also interested in how global events and trends in migration affect future patterns of modern slavery.

To help inform current and future policy making we want to understand how geographical patterns might evolve in the future.

Accurately quantifying the prevalence of modern slavery is challenging and therefore we are interested to understand which proxy indicators could be measured to understand the prevalence of modern slavery in the UK.^{[footnote 50]} Given the diversity of modern slavery, we welcome research that considers proxy indicators for different types of modern slavery.

We are interested in furthering our understanding how forms of exploitation related to modern slavery, like forced marriage and orphanage trafficking, can facilitate modern slavery. We also welcome more research on the intersection between forced labour, and exploitative labour practices which might fall short of being defined as ‘modern slavery’.

9. Engaging with the Home Office

We would like the research priorities outlined in this document to encourage a diverse range of partnerships and collaborations between academics and researchers and Government policy teams, law enforcement, NGOs, businesses and other existing multi-agency anti-slavery initiatives.

While this document identifies areas of interest, this is just the starting point. We are committed to encouraging dialogue and would encourage modern slavery academics and researchers to contact us with:

• Questions about the modern slavery research interests outlined in this document
• Queries about accessing Home Office data for research purposes (e.g. police recorded crime and outcomes, National Referral Mechanism and Duty to Notify data)
• Relevant modern slavery research to share with policy makers

Please use this dedicated email address:

[email protected].

Annex B: Further Resources

• Modern Slavery Act, 2015
• Human Trafficking and Exploitation (Criminal Justice and Support for Victims) Act (Northern Ireland) 2015
• Human Trafficking and Exploitation (Scotland) Act 2015
• Modern Slavery Strategy (Nov 2014)
• National Referral Mechanism Statistics, End of Year Summary 2017 (Mar 2018)
• The Salvation Army, Annual Reports on the Adult Victim Care Contract in England and Wales
• Ministry of Justice, Criminal Justice System Statistics
• Home Office, Police Recorded Crime Statistics
• Independent Review of the Modern Slavery Act 2015
• The economic and social costs of modern slavery (Jul 2018)

1. These estimates cover direct spend on modern slavery by Home Office, National Crime Agency, Foreign and Commonwealth Office, the Department for International Development and the Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner. The estimates do not include direct spend by the Scottish Government and the Northern Ireland Executive. The figures do not include ‘indirect spend’ for example, the spend by agencies such as police and Border Force on tackling modern slavery, as these agencies deploy resource flexibly to address threats and it is not possible to separate out funding specifically for work on modern slavery from the broader range of work they do. ↩

2. The phrase ‘potential victims’ is used in relation to National Referral Mechanism statistics as it designates that an individual has been identified and referred as a potential victim of modern slavery but does not indicate the outcome of a decision which may or may not confirm their victim status. ↩

3. The previously published figure of 5,145 potential victims for 2017 has been revised down to 5,143 due to two cases subsequently being identified as duplicate referrals. ↩

4. Scottish government: Human Trafficking and Exploitation Strategy: first annual progress report. ↩

5. The phrase ‘potential victims’ is used in relation to National Referral Mechanism statistics as it designates that an individual has been identified and referred as a potential victim of modern slavery but does not indicate the outcome of a decision which may or may not confirm their victim status. ↩

6. The NRM process and specialist support was initially established to deal solely with victims of human trafficking. In July 2015, the Government contract for adult victim care in England and Wales was extended to cover victims of all forms of modern slavery. Throughout this report, the term ‘modern slavery’ is used. The Northern Ireland Department of Justice has extended the scope of the NRM in Northern Ireland to cover all potential victims of modern slavery. ↩

7. In Northern Ireland, under Section 18 of the Human Trafficking and Exploitation (Criminal Justice and Support for Victims) Act (Northern Ireland) 2015 assistance and support is made available to adult potential victims of modern slavery from the point where a referral to the NRM is made or is about to be made, rather than from the point that a positive reasonable grounds decision is received. ↩

8. The three NRM referrals for organ harvesting were for non-EEA nationals. Two cases have received negative outcomes and one case is pending a conclusive grounds decision. No organ removal was found to have taken place in any of the three cases. ↩

9. Child category relates to those who were 17 years or under at the time of claimed exploitation. ↩

10. The term Home Office includes UK Visas and Immigration, Immigration Enforcement and Border Force. ↩

11. Between August 2015 and March 2017, a pilot was set up to test changes to the National Referral Mechanism (NRM) process in two areas: West Yorkshire and the South West of England (comprising the police force areas of Avon and Somerset, Devon and Cornwall, Dorset, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire). The pilot introduced Slavery and Safeguarding Leads to make reasonable grounds decisions, a Case Management Unit based in the Home Office to undertake NRM casework and multi-disciplinary panels to make conclusive grounds decisions. ↩

12. 31 is the official police recorded crime figure for Northern Ireland for the 2017-18 financial year. In Northern Ireland, all NRM referrals are initially recorded by PSNI as crimes. During the year, a number of those referrals may be de-registered as crimes if it becomes clear that they were not crimes, or that they took place in another jurisdiction. Last year, the provisional figure of 35 NRM referrals was recorded in the annual report instead of the final official police recorded crime figure of 21. The 2017/18 figure of 31 should therefore be compared with the 2016/2017 figure of 21, representing an increase in recorded offences in Northern Ireland of 47.6%. ↩

13. Prior to the introduction of the Modern Slavery Act 2015, modern slavery offences in England and Wales were covered by Section 59A Sexual Offences Act 2003 (inserted by Section 109 of the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012), Section 4 Asylum and Immigration (Treatment of Claimants) Act 2004 and Section 71 of the Coroners and Justice Act 2009. All legislation continues to be used depending on the when the offence was committed. ↩

14. The figures in tables 17-20 are extracted from the MoJ Courts Proceedings Database. ↩

15. Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that this data has been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account. ↩

16. The figures given in this table count how many defendants are prosecuted for each offence category. If a defendant is prosecuted for multiple offences within a single offence category, that defendant is counted once. If a defendant is prosecuted for offences spanning multiple offence categories, that defendant is counted once within each offence category. As such, the total number of defendants cannot be calculated by summing the defendants in each offence category, as this will result in some defendants being counted more than once. The total number of defendants that were prosecuted for any one or more of the offence categories is provided in the table. Some of these defendants may have been prosecuted for multiple offences relating to different offence categories and therefore will be counted separately in each relevant category. Counts for defendant prosecutions in this table may be larger than principal offence prosecutions as the defendant may have also been prosecuted for a more serious offence which is outside of the offence categories used in this table. ↩

17. The figures given in this table count how many offenders are convicted of each offence category. If an offender is convicted of multiple offences within a single offence category, that offender is counted once. If an offender is convicted of offences spanning multiple offence categories, that offender is counted once within each offence category. As such, the total number of offenders cannot be calculated by summing the offenders in each offence category, as this will result in some offenders being counted more than once. The total number of offenders that were convicted of any one or more of the offence categories is provided in the table. Some of these offenders may have been convicted of multiple offences relating to different offence categories and therefore will be counted separately in each relevant category. Counts for offender convictions in this table may be larger than principal offence convictions as the offender may have also been convicted for a more serious offence which is outside of the offence categories used in this table. ↩

18. This individual was also prosecuted for offences under s4 of the Asylum and Immigration Act 2004 (i.e. trafficking for other exploitative purposes) but to avoid duplication has only been included within this column. ↩

19. Five individuals were prosecuted for both trafficking for sexual exploitation and other exploitative purposes but are listed under the ‘trafficking for other exploitative purposes’ heading only. ↩

20. Between 1 January 2018 and 30 June 2018. ↩

21. One individual has been prosecuted for trafficking for sexual exploitation, the offence of forced labour or servitude, and an offence aggravated by trafficking but is listed under the ‘trafficking for sexual exploitation’ column only. ↩

22. Between 1 January 2018 and 30 June 2018. ↩

23. 2018 statistics are between 01 January to 30 June 2018. ↩

24. 2018 statistics are between 01 January to 30 June 2018. ↩

25. A further individual was convicted for acquiring and converting criminal property in the form of the victim’s wages. ↩

26. European Multidisciplinary Platform Against Crime Threats. ↩

27. The Modern Slavery Act Review. ↩

28. JARD is a live database which is continually updated. As such, the data provided may vary from reports run on earlier dates. ↩

29. Economic and social costs of modern slavery. ↩

30. GOV.UK: Modern slavery, Scottish government: Human trafficking: resources and NI direct: Modern slavery and human trafficking. ↩

31. Scottish government: Human trafficking research: summary of findings. ↩

32. NI direct: Modern slavery and human trafficking. ↩

33. Modern slavery awareness and victim identification guidance. ↩

34. Modern slavery training: resource page. ↩

35. A typology of modern slavery offences in the UK. ↩

36. Fieldwork was conducted by Ipsos Mori in Barking and Dagenham and Manchester between 5th March-29th June 2018. Due to the small sample size (233) findings should be treated as indicative only, and not representative of the UK Nigerian population. ↩

37. For further information, please see the case study in the International section. ↩

38. Source: HMCTS management information. Data are taken from a live management information system and can change over time. Figures include interim Slavery and Trafficking Risk Orders and interim Slavery and Trafficking Prevention Orders. ↩

39. An assessment of Independent Child Trafficking Advocates: Interim findings. ↩

40. An assessment of Independent Child Trafficking Advocates: Interim findings. ↩

41. An assessment of Independent Child Trafficking Advocates: Interim findings. ↩

42. The Children (Scotland) Act 1995; Children’s Hearings (Scotland) Act 2011; and Children and Young People (Scotland) Act 2014. ↩

43. Global estimates of modern slavery: forced labour and forced marriage, 2016, ILO, IOM and Walk Free Foundation. ↩

44. The FATF report. ↩

45. Scottish government: Human Trafficking and Exploitation Strategy: first annual progress report. ↩

46. This document is not an invitation to tender for Government funding for specific research projects. ↩

47. Section 45 of the Modern Slavery Act provides defence for slavery or trafficking victims who commit certain offences. ↩

48. The term ‘orphanage trafficking’ refers to children who are taken from their families by recruiters and sold into orphanages for the purposes of profit. These children are orphans ‘on paper’, but this does not necessarily reflect the reality of their situations. ↩

49. ‘County lines’, as defined by the National Crime Agency, involves the use of mobile phone ‘lines’ by groups to extend their drug dealing business into new locations outside of their home areas. These operating county lines aim to reduce their risk of detection by using children or vulnerable adults to carry and sell drugs outside of the area they live in. ↩

50. Proxy indicators are indirect measures that are used to measure the scale of phenomena that are challenging to measure directly. ↩