Asked by: Lord McColl of Dulwich (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, in regard to the report Reasonable grounds decisions in the NRM – who has been impacted by the change to the decision-making threshold?, published by Justice and Care, what assessment they have made of the impact of the increased evidential requirements for positive reasonable grounds decisions on the ability of adult potential modern slavery victims to access specialist support.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
All NRM decisions are made on an individual basis, carried out by trained specialist decision-makers in the Competent Authorities, in line with the Modern Slavery Statutory Guidance for England and Wales (under section 49 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015) and the non-statutory guidance for Scotland and Northern Ireland. The guidance is underpinned by The Slavery and Human Trafficking Definition of Victim Regulations 2022 and in accordance with the UK's international legal obligations.
We recognise the challenges associated with the National Referral Mechanism (NRM) and have made significant strides to implement changes. This Government recruited 200 new staff to clear the NRM decision backlog and as of March 2025, the backlog is now less than half the size it was at its worst in 2022.
On 30 April this year, we also published our improved and simplified NRM referral form following extensive feedback from over 450 stakeholders. The new referral form will improve the quality of referrals, better reflect victims’ experiences, and support more informed and consistent decision-making.
Asked by: Lord McColl of Dulwich (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the report Reasonable grounds decisions in the NRM – who has been impacted by the change to the decision-making threshold?, published by Justice and Care, and what are the reasons why some groups of potential modern slavery victims receive disproportionate levels of negative reasonable grounds decisions.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
All NRM decisions are made on an individual basis, carried out by trained specialist decision-makers in the Competent Authorities, in line with the Modern Slavery Statutory Guidance for England and Wales (under section 49 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015) and the non-statutory guidance for Scotland and Northern Ireland. The guidance is underpinned by The Slavery and Human Trafficking Definition of Victim Regulations 2022 and in accordance with the UK's international legal obligations.
We recognise the challenges associated with the National Referral Mechanism (NRM) and have made significant strides to implement changes. This Government recruited 200 new staff to clear the NRM decision backlog and as of March 2025, the backlog is now less than half the size it was at its worst in 2022.
On 30 April this year, we also published our improved and simplified NRM referral form following extensive feedback from over 450 stakeholders. The new referral form will improve the quality of referrals, better reflect victims’ experiences, and support more informed and consistent decision-making.
Asked by: Lord McColl of Dulwich (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the reasons why some local authorities have proposed (1) no increase, or (2) an increase below the rate of inflation, to fees for adult social care services.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Local authorities negotiate fees individually with care providers to achieve a sustainable balance of quality, effectiveness, and value for money.
We recognise the importance of fee rates, which meet the costs of delivery of care, which is why the Market Sustainability and Improvement Fund has been provided to local authorities since 2023/24, which can be used based on their areas’ needs. Improving fee rates to providers is one of the three target areas local authorities can spend their allocation on.
Asked by: Lord McColl of Dulwich (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to monitor the number of providers delivering publicly funded care services that have failed due to financial difficulties.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Care Quality Commission’s Market Oversight Scheme monitors the financial health of typically the largest and potentially most difficult-to-replace providers in the adult social care sector.
Adult social care services are provided through a largely outsourced market of commercial organisations and charities, commissioned by local authorities. Under the Care Act 2014, local authorities have a duty to promote the efficient and effective operation of their local market. Ensuring good management of the market and securing continuity of care in the event of market exit are fundamental elements of the system.
Asked by: Lord McColl of Dulwich (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to manage the risks of care provider collapse, in particular to ensure that vulnerable individuals who rely on those services continue to receive care.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Local authorities have a duty under the Care Act 2014 to ensure continuity of care if a provider exits the market as a result of business failure. This means that people should continue to receive the care and support they need if their adult social care provider is no longer able to carry on delivering services.
The Care Act 2014 also provides for the Care Quality Commission to monitor the financial health of the largest and potentially most difficult-to-replace adult social care providers in England. This allows them to warn local authorities if a provider is likely to fail for financial reasons and gives local authorities time to stand up their contingency plans.
Asked by: Lord McColl of Dulwich (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of changes to employer National Insurance contributions on charities working in the social care and special education sectors; and what steps, if any, they are taking to reduce that impact.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
A Tax Information and Impact Note (TIIN) was published alongside the introduction of the Bill containing the changes to employer NICs. The TIIN sets out the impact of the policy on the exchequer, the economic impacts of the policy, and the impacts on individuals, businesses, and civil society organisations, as well as an overview of the equality impacts.
The Government is making available up to £3.7 billion of additional funding for social care authorities in 2025/26, which includes a £880 million increase in the Social Care Grant. This represents an increase to local government spending power of up to 6.8% in cash terms.
The Government increased funding for the core schools budget by £2.3 billion, increasing per pupil funding in real terms, in 2025-26. £1 billion of this funding will go towards supporting the special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) system.
The Government also provides support for charities via our tax regime, which is among the most generous of anywhere in the world, with tax reliefs for charities and their donors worth just over £6 billion for the tax year to April 2024.
Asked by: Lord McColl of Dulwich (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of changes to employer National Insurance contributions on charities working in the social care and special education sectors; and what steps, if any, they are taking to reduce that impact.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
A Tax Information and Impact Note (TIIN) was published alongside the introduction of the Bill containing the changes to employer NICs. The TIIN sets out the impact of the policy on the exchequer, the economic impacts of the policy, and the impacts on individuals, businesses, and civil society organisations, as well as an overview of the equality impacts.
The Government is making available up to £3.7 billion of additional funding for social care authorities in 2025/26, which includes a £880 million increase in the Social Care Grant. This represents an increase to local government spending power of up to 6.8% in cash terms.
The Government increased funding for the core schools budget by £2.3 billion, increasing per pupil funding in real terms, in 2025-26. £1 billion of this funding will go towards supporting the special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) system.
The Government also provides support for charities via our tax regime, which is among the most generous of anywhere in the world, with tax reliefs for charities and their donors worth just over £6 billion for the tax year to April 2024.
Asked by: Lord McColl of Dulwich (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government, following reports in the Sunday Times on 26 January about the forced labour of at least 16 people in a McDonald’s restaurant, a car wash and a commercial bakery, what steps are they taking to ensure that the proposed Fair Work Agency will have sufficient powers and resources to detect and prevent such exploitation in future.
Answered by Baroness Jones of Whitchurch - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Government is committed to giving the Fair Work Agency the tools it needs to enforce its remit effectively and robustly. It will have strong powers that will allow it to investigate and take action against businesses that flout the law. Details around the implementation and funding will be provided in due course.
Asked by: Lord McColl of Dulwich (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, following reports in the Sunday Times on 26 January about the support that forced labour victims received from victim navigators at the charity Justice and Care, what steps they are taking to implement the recommendation of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 Committee Report, The Modern Slavery Act 2015: becoming world-leading again, that "Victim navigators should be rolled out nationally".
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government recognises the importance of supporting victims to engage with the criminal justice system and the positive impact an independent support worker, working alongside law enforcement, can have on securing this engagement.
The Minister for Safeguarding and Violence and Woman and Girls has met with the non-governmental organisation delivering the Victim Navigator Programme to better understand the impact of the programme to inform considerations of how we best support victims.
In addition, all consenting adult potential and confirmed victims of modern slavery in the National Referral Mechanism (NRM) in England and Wales, can access specialist need-based support via the Modern Slavery Victim Care Contract. In the current Modern Slavery Victim Care Contract support workers are required to signpost and facilitate survivor access to legal advice service, including support by non-governmental organisations, ensuring access to qualified advisors.
Asked by: Lord McColl of Dulwich (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government, following reports in the Sunday Times on 26 January of forced labour in bakeries supplying high street supermarkets and a McDonald's franchise, what assessment they have made of the benefits of introducing mandatory supply chain due diligence to identify and prevent exploitation of workers.
Answered by Baroness Jones of Whitchurch - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The UK supports voluntary due diligence approaches taken by UK businesses to identify and prevent exploitation of workers across their operations and supply chains, in line with the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs) and the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises.
We will continue to assess and monitor the effectiveness of the UK’s existing measures, alongside the impacts of new policy tools that are emerging, to ensure we can best promote responsible business practices and take action where appropriate.