Record high number of potential victims of modern slavery

The number of potential victims of modern slavery reached a record level, according to the latest official data.

A total of 4,758 potential victims were referred to the Home Office between July and September.

This is up 10% compared to the previous three months and a rise of 15% on the same quarter in 2023.

The Home Office said the number of referrals for the latest three-month period is the highest since the National Referral Mechanism (NRM) began in 2009.

To access support and have recognition of their circumstances in the UK, victims of slavery and human trafficking have to be assessed under the NRM.

Almost a quarter (23% or 1,092) of referrals were of UK nationality, with the second most common being Albanian (11%; 523) and Vietnamese (11%; 514).

Some 74% of UK nationals referred into the system were children, while 91% of the Albanian nationals and 81% of Vietnamese nationals referred were adults.

Overall, almost a third of referrals (31% or 1,498) were children, down from 34% in the previous quarter.

A total of 3,254 were adults when they were referred into the system, which was the highest in a quarter since the NRM began.

Almost three-quarters (74% or 2,414) of adult referrals were male and 26% (834) were female, while for children almost eight in 10 (78% or 1,169) referrals were male and 22% (326) were female.

Labour exploitation was the most commonly reported kind of exploitation among adults, but children were most often referred for criminal exploitation.

Assessment under the NRM determines whether, on the balance of probabilities, someone has “reasonable grounds” for statutory access to medical, psychological and legal support – meaning they are considered potential victims.

They are then assessed again and, if considered to be a confirmed victim, given a “positive conclusive grounds” decision.

The Home Office said 4,953 reasonable grounds and 5,188 conclusive grounds decisions were issued between July and September.

This was the highest number of conclusive grounds decisions issued for any quarter since the NRM began, representing a 35% increase from the previous record between January and March 2024.

Half (2,500) of reasonable grounds and 52% (2,705) of conclusive grounds decisions were positive, the Home Office said.

Safeguarding minister Jess Phillips, who has described tackling modern slavery as one of her top priorities, last month pledged to eradicate the backlog of modern slavery cases within two years “to give victims the clarity and peace of mind they need to move on with their lives”.

Under the NRM, most cases are sent to the Single Competent Authority (SCA) for consideration, but in the latest quarter around 13% of cases were sent to the Immigration Enforcement Competent Authority (IECA) – another unit within the Home Office which was established in 2021.

The latest data shows that the average time from someone being referred into the NRM to getting a conclusive grounds decision on their case was 1,039 days – almost double the 543-day average wait in the previous quarter.

Alongside its publication of the statistics on Thursday, the Home Office explained that older cases being taken on since May this year by the IECA will have been a factor leading to higher average decision times.

Separately, adult potential victims referred to the Home Office by public authorities in England and Wales through what is known as the Duty to Notify for those who want to remain anonymous and not enter the NRM were the highest in a quarter since that process was established in 2015.

A total of 1,501 reports of adult potential victims were made between July and September, up 6% from the previous record for January to March 2023.

A Home Office spokesperson said: “Modern slavery is a scourge that dehumanises and traumatises people for profit, and we are committed to tackling it in all its forms.

“We recognise that survivors are waiting far too long for a decision. That is why we are hiring 200 new decision-makers to clear this backlog in two years and ensure survivors get the certainty and support they need to rebuild their lives.”