Ministerial government departments have, for the first time ever, voluntarily published their first annual modern slavery statements setting out how they are tackling the potential risk of modern slavery in their supply chains.

The statements, including the Home Office’s statement, can be found on GOV.UK and the modern slavery statement registry. The Government has also published a Progress Report which highlights how Government has met the goals set out in the 2020 UK Government modern slavery statement see: http://gov.uk/government/publications/uk-government-modern-slavery-statement 

The Progress Report sets out what Government has successfully delivered including:

• The appointment and up-skilling of director-level anti-slavery advocates across government to tackle potential risk of modern slavery in their supply chains.
• Work with over 3,000 suppliers to strengthen their modern slavery due diligence as of 1 October 2021, compared to 1,104 as of March 2020.
• The launch of the Social Value Model (SVM) in January 2021, which sets out how new central government procurements need to take account of social value criteria in the award of contracts.
• Successfully reaching over 1,000 public sector officials through workshops and events on the key steps to tackle modern slavery.

The Salvation Army has published its annual report on work delivering specialist support services to survivors of modern slavery in England and Wales through the Modern Slavery Victim Care Contract. The report contains summary data from July 2020 to June 2021 and highlights of work undertaken by The Salvation Army and its partners during this period.

Please note, The Salvation Army’s confidential referral advice line 0800 808 3733 is available 24/7 for anyone who suspects that they or someone they have encountered might be a victim of modern slavery and in need of help.

The report can be downloaded here and previous reports are available here.

The Modern Slavery PEC has re-opened two funding calls for proposals on research projects evaluating the provision of distributed technology, such as phones and data, to people with lived experience of modern slavery and on the access to legal advice.

After taking some helpful feedback, the PEC has now re-opened the two calls with some changes, including increased timeframes, budgets and more flexibility.

Distributed technology for adults with lived experience.

During the Covid-19 pandemic, some support providers within the UK’s National Referral Mechanism (NRM) have distributed devices to service users, including phones, computers and associated data packages. Although initial reports have been positive, there hasn’t been comprehensive research on the impact of distributed technology on people’s wellbeing, potential safety risks and longer-term implications for how support services are delivered. The aim of this responsive research is to address that gap.

Read full details of this call.

Experiences of accessing legal advice for people with lived experience of modern slavery.

The aim of this responsive research will be to assess the experiences of accessing and not being able to access legal advice for people with lived experience of modern slavery throughout the UK, particularly on their recovery and outcomes. The project should identify both barriers to accessing legal advice and any promising practice which could improve outcomes for people with lived experience.

Read full details of this call.

Application details

The deadline for applications for both calls is on 11 January 2022. The applications to this call must be made through this online form. If you have further questions, including, but not limited to, the scope of the call, budgets, partnerships or the amendments made to the call, please email [email protected]. If you are looking for partners to form a research team, please use the Modern Slavery PEC email group.

Finally, you can sign up here to be added to the mailing list. If you have any queries about this update or you have any feedback that you would like us to reflect on for future newsletters, please let us know at [email protected].