News & Updates

Home Office Newsletter 05/08/21

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Modern Slavery NRM and Duty to Notify Statistics Quarter 2 2021 
 
National Referral Mechanism and Duty to Notify Statistics covering quarter 2 2021 were release this morning (Thursday 5 August). The statistical bulletins give a summary of the number of potential victims referred to the NRM across the UK, as well as the number of potential victims reported via the DtN process in England and Wales. The statistics show that:

  • 3,140 potential victims of modern slavery were referred to the Home Office in the second quarter of 2021, representing a 7% increase compared to the preceding quarter (2,942) and a 42% increase from quarter 2 in 2020 (2,204).
  • The number of referrals received this quarter is the second highest since the NRM began in 2009 (the highest number was 3,343 in quarter 4 2019)
  • 77% (2,421) were male and 23% (717) were female
  • 61% (1,912) of potential victims claimed exploitation in the UK only and 28% (882) claimed exploitation overseas only
  • 50% (1,564) of referrals were for potential victims who claimed exploitation as adults and 43% (1,357) claimed exploitation as children
  • For adult potential victims, labour exploitation was the most common exploitation type reported (32%; 501), whereas child potential victims were most often referred for criminal exploitation (49%; 662)
  • The most common nationalities referred this quarter were UK, Albanian and Vietnamese
  • The Single Competent Authority (SCA) made 3,086 reasonable grounds and 500 conclusive grounds decisions in this quarter. Of these, 89% of reasonable grounds and 88%?of conclusive grounds decisions were positive
  • The Home Office received 910 reports of adult potential victims via the DtN process, the highest number of quarterly reports received.

The full statistical bulletin for quarter 2 can be accessed here.
 
Devolving Child Decision-Making Pilot Programme: Scotland Guidance Update 
 
The Glasgow City Council Pilot Site has now gone live.  This Pilot Programme is to test whether determining if a child is a victim of modern slavery within existing local safeguarding structures is a more appropriate model for making modern slavery decisions.

We have published guidance for Scotland to provide a transparent policy basis for the Pilot Sites in Scotland to operate which can be found here.

Separate guidance is required for Scotland due to the different devolved context and legislation on Modern Slavery.

All ten of the Pilot Sites, identified via a competitive process, are now live. The approach to this Pilot Programme will enable decisions about whether a child is a victim of modern slavery to be made by those involved in their care and ensure the decisions made are closely aligned with the provision of local, needs-based support and any law enforcement response.

We are grateful for the support from all stakeholders who have contributed to the launch of the Pilot Programme and we are looking forward to working with the successful Pilot Sites over the coming months. If you have any questions or are interested to know more about the pilot programme, please email us at [email protected].
 
E-learning: tackling modern slavery in public sector supply chains 
 
As part of the government’s efforts to tackle modern slavery in global supply chains, the Home Office’s Modern Slavery Unit and Joint Security and Resilience Centre have produced an e-learning course for public sector commercial staff at all grades. The course covers practical steps staff can take throughout the commercial lifecycle to identify and mitigate modern slavery risks.

The e-learning course should give users a strong set of skills to recognise how modern slavery can manifest in supply chains, spot modern slavery risks in procurement and critically interrogate the assurances suppliers provide and drive improvements in modern slavery due diligence to create better outcomes for workers.

Access to this course is funded by the Government Commercial College (GCC), and it is at nil cost to learners. The e-learning is available to public sector staff who have access to the GCC website. The course should take users approximately 2.5 hours to complete and is split into 5 modules for users to undertake at their own pace.

The e-learning course guides users through a fictional personal protective equipment (PPE) procurement as a case study but the learning is applicable to staff working on other areas of procurement. You can also find the associated guidance documents designed for buyers and suppliers of PPE.
 
Reminder: E-learning for First Responders 
 
The Home Office has produced a new E-learning module focussed on child victims of modern slavery which was launched in July this year. This builds on the First Responder training developed by the Home Office in 2020.

The new module aims to further develop practitioners’ understanding of modern slavery from a child safeguarding perspective. Both E-learning modules are hosted on the Modern Slavery and Organised Immigration Crime Unit’s (MSOICU) website.

We strongly encourage all First Responders and frontline professionals who work with children to take these training modules. Each module takes approximately 45 minutes to complete and there is an accompanying workbook to help consolidate the user’s learning.

We have included a survey at the end of the training to capture high level anonymised data on where the user works and to invite feedback on the module.  Please do share more widely with your colleagues and stakeholders to raise awareness of these training opportunities. 

The new child-focussed module can be found here.
The original First Responder module can be found here.