We are pleased to announce that ICTGs, which are delivered by Barnardo’s, have now launched in the following areas: London (except for the Borough of Croydon where the service was already available); Essex; West Yorkshire; Merseyside; Kent; Surrey; Warwickshire; Bedfordshire; North Yorkshire; Gloucestershire and Bristol; and Lancashire.

The service will continue to operate as usual in the areas where it is already available: Hampshire; Greater Manchester; West Midlands Combined Authorities; East Midlands; the London Borough of Croydon and nationally in Wales.

The ICTG service now covers in total two thirds of local authorities across England and Wales; a key milestone in the NRM Transformation Programme.

Where the ICTG service is available, an ICTG referral should be made in addition to the NRM referral. A First Responder can make a referral by completing an ICTG service online referral form available here or here (Welsh). A 24/7 assessment line number for the ICTG service [0800 043 4303] is available for advice on referring a child into the service.

As part of this phase of the rollout, the Home Office will undertake targeted testing of the following three recommendations from the Independent Review of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 in a mix of ICTG sites:

Remove the 18-month limit for ICTG support to ensure that the support provided is based on the individual needs of the child rather than being time-limited. This change will be implemented in all ICTG sites.

·    Enable those children who need it, to continue to receive ICTG support following their 18th birthday. This change will be tested in London, West Yorkshire and Warwickshire.

·    Allow children who have a figure of parental responsibility for them in the UK to access one-to-one support where there is an exceptional need. This change will be tested in Wales, the East Midlands, and West Midlands Combined Authorities.

We have updated the Interim ICTG Guidance to reflect the expansion of the service and the targeted testing of the three recommendations. We worked in consultation with other government departments and key stakeholders, including the Children’s Task and Finish Group (CTFG) to achieve this and are grateful for their input.

We have worked closely with Barnardo’s to ensure we have a service model that delivers needs-based support for child victims of modern slavery. We are grateful for Barnardo’s work so far and are looking forward to continuing to work together to deliver support to child victims of modern slavery.

If you have any questions or are interested to know more about this phase of the ICTG roll out please email us at [email protected].