ABOUT THE BILL
Victims of modern slavery in England and Wales currently have no legal right to support.
The Government provides victims with a limited period of care on a non-statutory basis while the authorities decide if the person is a victim, but then the support ends.
Lord McColl of Dulwich has brought forward a Bill in the House of Lords to put this right. His Modern Slavery (Victim Support) Bill will give victims in England and Wales a guaranteed right to support during the initial period when the decision about the status is being made, and for a further minimum of 12 months afterwards.
WHY WE
NEED IT
Organisations that support victims have said that a minimum of 12 months of support and permission to be in the UK is the minimum length of time victims need to give them a stable foundation for recovery.
This Bill will protect victims from being vulnerable to re-trafficking, as well as allowing a direct pathway to recovery, ensuring quality of care, and making sure victims’ rights are guaranteed after Brexit.
SEBASTIAN
“The number one thing that should be provided for victims of trafficking is stable housing. I don’t think they should have to work for three months because you need time to adjust to your new circumstances, reintegrate into normal society, recover and learn how to trust people”
MAYA
"I spent years accepting that what my life had become couldn't and wouldn't ever change. It was impossible for me to speak out and nobody around me took any notice of the signs right in front of them."
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CONTACT YOUR MP
It is really important that MPs hear from their constituents about why we need the Modern Slavery (Victim Support) Bill. Please contact your MP today. Search your postcode to generate a ready-made email to send to your MP.
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I am writing as your constituent because I am deeply concerned that on 1 January victims of modern slavery will lose legal rights that enable them to access support for their recovery in the UK. In a context where so much has been said by the UK Government about its determination to lead the way in dealing with the challenge of modern slavery it is extraordinary that it should now be content to preside over the actual removal of the recovery rights of confirmed victims.
From 1 January when the immigration rules change EU nationals who are confirmed to be victims by the National Referral Mechanism will lose their rights to stay in the UK and access welfare benefits to continue their recovery. The only way these victims will be able to stay and access benefits and other support services over a longer period will be if they are granted discretionary leave to remain, but this is only rarely granted. On 19 October the Government also made a small concession agreeing that confirmed victims of modern slavery who are EEA nationals and who will lose their right to be in the UK and recourse to public funds after 1 January, will as a matter of practice be automatically assessed for receiving discretionary leave to remain. This, however, is a far cry from saying they will receive discretionary leave to remain. To date only a small proportion of confirmed victims of modern slavery have ever received discretionary leave to remain. There is still a significant chance that many victims will fall through the gaps.
Happily, there is an obvious way forward. If the UK Government adopts Lord McColl and the Rt Hon Sir Iain Duncan Smith’s Modern Slavery (Victim Support) Bill all victims across the UK will have 12 months’ leave to remain in the UK so that they can continue their recovery after leaving the NRM.
Although the power to provide support is devolved in Scotland and we have our own legislation and schemes for doing this, immigration is a reserved matter. Unless the Home Secretary extends leave to remain to all victims, some will remain unable to access any specialist help made available by the Scottish Government as well as other welfare benefits. The change to the situation for EU nationals is going to mean many more victims unable to access assistance and support from 1 January.
Long term support for victims is not just good for victims – it is central to bringing more traffickers to justice. Prosecution rates remain persistently low and research has shown the lack of ongoing, consistent support for victims is a key factor in this. Victims’ essential evidence and intelligence is being lost hindering efforts to dismantle the criminal networks behind modern slavery.
USEFUL INFORMATION FOR THE HOME SECRETARY
Adopting the Modern Slavery (Victim Support) Bill will prevent the removal of the legal rights of confirmed victims to support from 1 January
It’s in the Government’s interest to back the Modern Slavery (Victim Support) Bill because the provision of a minimum of 12 months support will:
Help prevent destitution and prevent re-trafficking
Make it possible for all confirmed victims to think seriously about giving evidence against their traffickers in court, which is the key to increasing the conviction rates of traffickers
The Nottingham University Rights Lab report on the Bill demonstrates that it will actually save rather than cost the Government money
It would not need to take lots of parliamentary time. The Bill completed all its Lords Stages in the 2017-19 Parliament in less than four hours! If the Government wanted it to become law, it could become law quickly.
It would show that leaving the EU does not have to be about a race to the bottom and that Parliament can use its sovereignty to actually lead the way.
If the Bill is not adopted and the removal of victims’ rights takes place, any suggestion by the UK Government that they lead the way in tackling modern slavery will be completely unsustainable from 1 January.
Find out more at
I am writing as your constituent because I am deeply concerned that on 1 January victims of modern slavery will lose legal rights that enable them to access support for their recovery in the UK. In a context where so much has been said by the UK Government about its determination to lead the way in dealing with the challenge of modern slavery it is extraordinary that it should now be content to preside over the actual removal of the recovery rights of confirmed victims.
From 1 January when the immigration rules change EU nationals who are confirmed to be victims by the National Referral Mechanism will lose their rights to stay in the UK and access welfare benefits to continue their recovery. The only way these victims will be able to stay and access benefits and other support services over a longer period will be if they are granted discretionary leave to remain, but this is only rarely granted. On 19 October the Government also made a small concession agreeing that confirmed victims of modern slavery who are EEA nationals and who will lose their right to be in the UK and recourse to public funds after 1 January, will as a matter of practice be automatically assessed for receiving discretionary leave to remain. This, however, is a far cry from saying they will receive discretionary leave to remain. To date only a small proportion of confirmed victims of modern slavery have ever received discretionary leave to remain. There is still a significant chance that many victims will fall through the gaps.
Happily, there is an obvious way forward. If the UK Government adopts Lord McColl and the Rt Hon Sir Iain Duncan Smith’s Modern Slavery (Victim Support) Bill all victims across the UK will have 12 months’ leave to remain in the UK so that they can continue their recovery after leaving the NRM.
Although the power to provide support is devolved in Northern Ireland and we have our own legislation and schemes for doing this, immigration is a reserved matter. Unless the Home Secretary extends leave to remain to all victims, some will remain unable to access any specialist help made available by the Scottish Government as well as other welfare benefits. The change to the situation for EU nationals is going to mean many more victims unable to access assistance and support from 1 January.
Long term support for victims is not just good for victims – it is central to bringing more traffickers to justice. Prosecution rates remain persistently low and research has shown the lack of ongoing, consistent support for victims is a key factor in this. Victims’ essential evidence and intelligence is being lost hindering efforts to dismantle the criminal networks behind modern slavery.
USEFUL INFORMATION FOR THE HOME SECRETARY
Adopting the Modern Slavery (Victim Support) Bill will prevent the removal of the legal rights of confirmed victims to support from 1 January
It’s in the Government’s interest to back the Modern Slavery (Victim Support) Bill because the provision of a minimum of 12 months support will:
a) Help prevent destitution and prevent re-trafficking
b) Make it possible for all confirmed victims to think seriously about giving evidence against their traffickers in court, which is the key to increasing the conviction rates of traffickers
The Nottingham University Rights Lab report on the Bill demonstrates that it will actually save rather than cost the Government money
It would not need to take lots of parliamentary time. The Bill completed all its Lords Stages in the 2017-19 Parliament in less than four hours! If the Government wanted it to become law, it could become law quickly.
It would show that leaving the EU does not have to be about a race to the bottom and that Parliament can use its sovereignty to actually lead the way.
If the Bill is not adopted and the removal of victims’ rights takes place, any suggestion by the UK Government that they lead the way in tackling modern slavery will be completely unsustainable from 1 January.
Find out more at
I am writing as your constituent because I am deeply concerned that on 1 January next year many confirmed victims of modern slavery will lose their legal rights to support to help them recover from their ordeal. In a context where so much has been said by the Government about its determination to lead the way in dealing with the challenge of modern slavery it is extraordinary that it should now be content to preside over the actual removal of the recovery and support rights of confirmed victims.
Victims’ rights face erosion for 2 reasons on 1 January: First, because the Modern Slavery Act does not provide support for victims, the only rights victims have in domestic law are directly effective rights under the EU Anti-Trafficking Directive. But the Government says it cannot confirm that all rights under the Directive will continue from 1 January. Second, EU nationals who are confirmed by the National Referral Mechanism to be victims of modern slavery will also lose their right to stay in the UK to continue their recovery and will no longer be able to access welfare benefits from 1 January when the immigration rules change.
While confirmed victims will lose legal rights to support, this is not the same as saying they will receive no support but the support on offer is wholly inadequate. The Recovery Needs Assessment allows confirmed victims to access support but usually just for relatively short periods at a time which does not provide confirmed victims the stability they need. Instead of being able to recover they inevitably spend the period of support worrying about whether they will have a roof over the heads afterwards. On 19 October the Government also made a small concession agreeing that confirmed victims of modern slavery who are EEA nationals and who will lose their right to be in the UK and recourse to public funds after 1 January, will as a matter of practice be automatically assessed for receiving discretionary leave to remain. This, however, is a far cry from saying they will receive discretionary leave to remain. To date only a small proportion of confirmed victims of modern slavery have ever received discretionary leave to remain.
Happily, there is an obvious way forward. If the Government adopts Lord McColl and the Rt Hon Sir Iain Duncan Smith’s Modern Slavery (Victim Support) Bill, then rather than allowing the rights of confirmed victims of modern slavery to support being removed, they will actually be strengthened. Under the Bill, supported by the Free for Good coalition of leading anti-slavery organisations, all confirmed victims would be offered a minimum of 12 months leave to remain in order to receive specialist support to help them recover from their ordeal. Without this support, confirmed victims will be very vulnerable to being left homeless and being re-trafficked. It is also very unlikely they will feel in a position to think about giving evidence in court against their traffickers without which our stubbornly low conviction rates for traffickers will remain.
Please would you write to the Home Secretary and tell her that it is unthinkable that the Government should allow the removal of the legal rights of any confirmed victims of modern slavery and that it should adopt the Modern Slavery (Victim Support) Bill in order to prevent this. Without it, Britain’s claim to lead the way in addressing the scourge of modern slavery will be completely unsustainable from 1 January.
Please find below some key points to make to the Government about the Modern Slavery (Victim Support) Bill.
USEFUL INFORMATION FOR THE HOME SECRETARY
Adopting the Modern Slavery (Victim Support) Bill will prevent the removal of the legal rights of confirmed victims to support
It’s in the Government’s interest to back the Modern Slavery (Victim Support) Bill because the provision of a minimum of 12 months support will:
Help prevent destitution and prevent re-trafficking
Make it possible for all confirmed victims to think seriously about giving evidence against their traffickers in court, which is the key to increasing the conviction rates of traffickers
The Nottingham University Rights Lab report on the Bill demonstrates that it will actually save rather than cost the Government money
It would not need to take lots of parliamentary time. The Bill completed all its Lords Stages in the 2017-19 Parliament in less than four hours! If the Government wanted it to become law, it could become law quickly.
It would show that leaving the EU does not have to be about a race to the bottom and that Parliament can use its sovereignty to actually lead the way.
If the Bill is not adopted and the removal of victims’ rights takes place, any suggestion by the UK Government that they lead the way in tackling modern slavery will be completely unsustainable from 1 January.
Find out more at
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