Asked by: Lord Coaker (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government when they will publish their Modern Slavery Bill.
Answered by Lord Murray of Blidworth
As the Prime Minister set out in his statement to the House of Commons on 13 December, the Government is determined to tackle the misuse of our modern slavery system. We continue to examine the case for legislative changes to improve the operation of the system and we will make a further announcement in due course.
Asked by: Lord Coaker (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government which Minister is responsible for the National Referral Mechanism, given that it (1) is no longer alongside modern slavery within the remit of the Minister for Safeguarding, and (2) has not been added to the remit of Minister for Immigration.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
Modern Slavery now falls under the remit of The Rt.Hon Robert Jenrick as the Minister of State for Migration.
There are close links between modern slavery and migration. About two thirds of potential victims are foreign nationals, and often potential victims have ongoing engagement with the immigration system so having one minister overseeing both modern slavery and migration will help to ensure the interaction works effectively.
Asked by: Lord Coaker (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government which Minister is responsible for British victims of modern slavery, given that 31 per cent of all potential victims referred to the National Referral Mechanism in 2021 were UK nationals which do not fit under the heading ‘Illegal migration and asylum’ within the new remit of the Minister for Immigration.
Answered by Lord Murray of Blidworth
The Government remains committed to tackling the heinous crime of modern slavery and supporting victims, regardless of policy portfolio.
There are close links between modern slavery and migration; about two thirds of potential victims are foreign nationals, and often potential victims have ongoing engagement with the immigration system.
While a Ministerial portfolio hopes to group together related policies, there will be elements of complex policy areas which fall across multiple portfolios. Home Office Ministers work together on complex policy issues.
Asked by: Lord Coaker (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government which Minister is responsible for modern slavery where no illegal immigration has occurred, given that modern slavery has been removed from the remit of Minister for Safeguarding and placed under the heading ‘Illegal migration and asylum’ within the remit of the Minister for Immigration.
Answered by Lord Murray of Blidworth
The Government remains committed to tackling the heinous crime of modern slavery and supporting victims, regardless of policy portfolio.
There are close links between modern slavery and migration; about two thirds of potential victims are foreign nationals, and often potential victims have ongoing engagement with the immigration system.
While a Ministerial portfolio hopes to group together related policies, there will be elements of complex policy areas which fall across multiple portfolios. Home Office Ministers work together on complex policy issues.
Asked by: Lord Coaker (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government which articles and sections of Directive 2011/36/EU on preventing and combating trafficking they have identified as being incompatible with the Nationality and Borders Act 2022.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The Government remains committed to tackling the scourge of modern slavery.
Directive 2011/36/EU on preventing and combatting trafficking in human beings and protecting its victims (the “EU Trafficking Directive”) was adopted on 5 April 2011.
The Nationality and Borders Act provides legislative clarity to victims and decision makers on victims’ rights, including the entitlement to a recovery period and the circumstances in which confirmed victims may be granted permission to stay.
Section 68 of the Nationality and Borders Act 2022 disapplied the EU Trafficking Directive insofar as it was incompatible with provisions made by that Act.
The provisions in Section 68 aim to ensure that if there is any provision within the EU Directive that operates on the same subject as the Nationality and Borders Act 2022, whether support for victims or otherwise, there is no confusion as to which applies.
The Government believes that that if there is any provision within the Directive that operates on the same subject as the 2022 Act, whether support for victims or otherwise, it is right that people are not confused as to which applies. More broadly, the Government does not believe that any of the Directive’s provisions have been given direct effect by a domestic court and so does not have effect as retained EU law.
This provision does not result in a diminution below the standards laid down in the EU Trafficking Directive, nor does section 68 remove any entitlements from victims. This legal clarification will not have an impact on victim identification, protection and support provided through the National Referral Mechanism.
Asked by: Lord Coaker (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of section 68 of the Nationality and Borders Act 2022 on the rights of victims of modern slavery.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The Government remains committed to tackling the scourge of modern slavery.
Directive 2011/36/EU on preventing and combatting trafficking in human beings and protecting its victims (the “EU Trafficking Directive”) was adopted on 5 April 2011.
The Nationality and Borders Act provides legislative clarity to victims and decision makers on victims’ rights, including the entitlement to a recovery period and the circumstances in which confirmed victims may be granted permission to stay.
Section 68 of the Nationality and Borders Act 2022 disapplied the EU Trafficking Directive insofar as it was incompatible with provisions made by that Act.
The provisions in Section 68 aim to ensure that if there is any provision within the EU Directive that operates on the same subject as the Nationality and Borders Act 2022, whether support for victims or otherwise, there is no confusion as to which applies.
The Government believes that that if there is any provision within the Directive that operates on the same subject as the 2022 Act, whether support for victims or otherwise, it is right that people are not confused as to which applies. More broadly, the Government does not believe that any of the Directive’s provisions have been given direct effect by a domestic court and so does not have effect as retained EU law.
This provision does not result in a diminution below the standards laid down in the EU Trafficking Directive, nor does section 68 remove any entitlements from victims. This legal clarification will not have an impact on victim identification, protection and support provided through the National Referral Mechanism.
Asked by: Lord Coaker (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what consultation they (1) have had, and (2) plan to undertake, with respect to the Modern Slavery Bill announced in the 2022 Queen's Speech.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
My Rt Hon friend the Home Secretary will set out the Government’s plans for modern slavery legislation in due course.
Asked by: Lord Coaker (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government when they intend to publish the Modern Slavery Bill announced in the 2022 Queen's Speech.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
My Rt Hon friend the Home Secretary will set out the Government’s plans for modern slavery legislation in due course.
Asked by: Lord Coaker (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of section 65 (Temporary Leave) of the Nationality and Borders Act 2022 on the victims of modern slavery.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
Section 65 of the Nationality and Borders Act confirms in primary legislation the provision of temporary permission to stay for confirmed victims of modern slavery where it is necessary, and unless relevant exemptions apply, to assist in their recovery from physical or psychological harm related to their exploitation, to enable them to claim compensation or to enable their co-operation in bringing their exploiters to justice. This will bring clarity to both victims and decision makers on when victims will and won’t be eligible for permission to stay.
We will keep the implementation of reforms in the Nationality and Borders Act 2022 under close review.
The government has completed a full economic and equalities impact assessment and we will review the impact of section 65 going forward where necessary.
Asked by: Lord Coaker (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government which sections of the Nationality and Borders Act 2022 that allow the Secretary of State to make regulations (1) have, and (2) have not, been used to make such regulations.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The Nationality and Borders Act 2022 (“the Act”) achieved Royal Assent on 28th April 2022.
The provisions set out in section 87(3) and (4) of the Act came into force immediately upon Royal Assent. The provisions set out in section 87(5) of the Act came into force on 28th June 2022. The provisions listed in Schedule 1 of the Act (Commencement No. 1, Transitional and Saving Provisions) came into force on 28th June 2022 and the provisions listed in the Nationality and Borders Act 2022 (Commencement No. 2) Regulations 2022 came into force on 24th August 2022.
Implementation of the Act to date has been through the following pieces of secondary legislation:
There have also been changes to the Immigration Rules made during 2022 in relation to the implementation of the Act.
The remaining measures will be implemented over the coming months and into next year.