New report emphasises that trafficking is not an immigration offence and must not be conflated with irregular migration
The House of Commons Home Affairs Committee on Friday published a comprehensive and important new report on human trafficking and modern slavery in the UK.
Image credit: UK GovernmentYou can download the 102-page here or read it online here.
The report follows an inquiry by the Committee into human trafficking which was announced in February of this year. In its report, the Committee focuses primarily on the three most reported forms of modern slavery offences: sexual exploitation, labour exploitation and criminal exploitation.
A key concern raised by the Committee in the report is that the fight against human trafficking is no longer being treated as a priority for the Government eight years after the introduction of the Modern Slavery Act 2015. Indeed, the Home Affairs Committee says the Government has deliberately de-prioritised human trafficking in favour of attention on irregular migration and has conflated immigration with trafficking. The Committee expressed deep concern and emphasised that human trafficking is not an immigration offence against the State, but rather an exploitation offence against the individual.
The report states: "Throughout our inquiry we heard consistently from numerous stakeholders that the Government is prioritising work to tackle irregular migration issues at the expense of the abhorrent crimes of human trafficking, notwithstanding the fact that since 2018 over 16,000 British nationals have been referred to the national referral mechanism (NRM). Furthermore, some stakeholders told us that in doing so, the Government is conflating human trafficking and immigration, thus undermining the gravity of the crime of human trafficking."
It continues: "Much of the evidence we received conveyed concerns about recent legislation, specifically the Illegal Migration Act 2023 and the potential negative impact its provisions could have on victims of modern slavery and human trafficking. The Illegal Migration Bill was introduced in the House of Commons on 7 March 2023. Upon its introduction, the former Home Secretary, the Rt Hon Suella Braverman MP, said: 'Modern slavery laws are being abused to block removals. (…) That is why this Bill disqualifies illegal entrants from using modern slavery rules to prevent removal'."
The Committee said it was concerned by claims made by the Government about migrants 'abusing the system'. It found that the Government's evidence for individuals 'abusing the NRM system to gain asylum' was not compelling.
"There may be a few examples of individuals attempting to take advantage of the NRM, but the Home Office has failed to produce sufficient evidence to support its assertions of widespread abuse. A small number of cases cannot be allowed to jeopardise effective use of the NRM, which provides invaluable support to victims of human trafficking, nor should the Government conflate victims of human trafficking with irregular migration. The Government's policy focus on immigration rather than human trafficking is reflected in law enforcement priorities," the report states.
In its conclusions and recommendations, the Committee says the Home Office must not conflate immigration with human trafficking and modern slavery at the expense of protection of victims of human trafficking. It further recommends that the Home Office and respective public authorities should treat human trafficking as primarily a protection issue and not an irregular migration concern, and future legislation must take account of the legitimate protection and support needs of all victims including UK nationals.
The report also highlights concerns over the lack of legal aid for victims of human trafficking and modern slavery.
The Home Affairs Committee noted: "We heard concerns about the level of legal support provided to victims - namely, that there is a shortage of legal aid providers and that victims do not receive legal advice early enough in the NRM process. Trafficking cases are complex, long running, and costly, whilst legal aid fees are usually fixed. This means that that taking on cases involving victims of trafficking and modern slavery is not viable or sustainable for many legal aid providers. This in turn may deter the development of specialist expertise."
Victims of human trafficking should be provided with earlier and better access to legal aid, the report recommends. This must include pre-NRM immigration advice; advice on identification as a victim of trafficking and modern slavery; advice on the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme; advice for non-UK nationals on applying for international protection; and advice on the application of the non-punishment principle.
In addition, the report recommends that the Government should increase the legal aid rate for those dealing with human trafficking cases and should increase training for legal aid solicitors on human trafficking and the NRM process.
The Committee identifies numerous other shortcomings with the Government's approach to human trafficking, including inadequate support for victims and unacceptably low prosecution rates. Prevention must be at the heart of the Government’s anti-trafficking strategy, the report says, especially as it appears that current prevention efforts are "woefully inadequate".