Asked by: Jess Phillips (Labour - Birmingham, Yardley)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what is her Department's target timescale for making a Reasonable Grounds decision in the National Referral Mechanism; and what is the current average wait time for a victim of modern slavery to be given a Reasonable Grounds decision.
Answered by Sarah Dines
The Home Office publishes quarterly and annual statistics regarding the National Referral Mechanism (NRM). These include the average time taken to make a Conclusive Grounds Decision. The latest published NRM statistics can be found here:
National Referral Mechanism statistics - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).
As outlined in the Modern Slavery: Statutory Guidance for England and Wales (under s49 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015) and Non-Statutory Guidance for Scotland and Northern Ireland, the expectation is that the Competent Authority will make a Reasonable Grounds decision within five working days, where possible, of the NRM referral being received. There is no target to make a Conclusive Grounds decision within a specific timeframe. A decision can only be made fairly and reasonably once sufficient information has been made available to the Competent Authority for it to complete the decision. When the relevant Competent Authority has received sufficient information for it to complete a decision it should seek to do so as soon as possible but only once a minimum Recovery and Reflection Period has passed, unless the relevant Competent Authority has received a request to delay the decision. The Recovery and Reflection period begins when the relevant competent authority makes a positive Reasonable Grounds decision.
Asked by: Jess Phillips (Labour - Birmingham, Yardley)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what is her Department's target timescale for making a Conclusive Grounds decision in the National Referral Mechanism; and what is the current average wait time for a victim of modern slavery to be given a conclusive grounds decision following a Reasonable Grounds decision.
Answered by Sarah Dines
The Home Office publishes quarterly and annual statistics regarding the National Referral Mechanism (NRM). These include the average time taken to make a Conclusive Grounds Decision. The latest published NRM statistics can be found here:
National Referral Mechanism statistics - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).
As outlined in the Modern Slavery: Statutory Guidance for England and Wales (under s49 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015) and Non-Statutory Guidance for Scotland and Northern Ireland, the expectation is that the Competent Authority will make a Reasonable Grounds decision within five working days, where possible, of the NRM referral being received. There is no target to make a Conclusive Grounds decision within a specific timeframe. A decision can only be made fairly and reasonably once sufficient information has been made available to the Competent Authority for it to complete the decision. When the relevant Competent Authority has received sufficient information for it to complete a decision it should seek to do so as soon as possible but only once a minimum Recovery and Reflection Period has passed, unless the relevant Competent Authority has received a request to delay the decision. The Recovery and Reflection period begins when the relevant competent authority makes a positive Reasonable Grounds decision.
Asked by: Jess Phillips (Labour - Birmingham, Yardley)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 14 November 2022 to Question 80727 on Slavery, if she will publish a list of the National Referral Mechanism first responder agencies which referred people who were found to be exploiting the modern slavery system in (a) 2020, (b) 2021 and (c) 2022 as of 7 November 2022; and how many of those cases were brought by each National Referral Mechanism first responder agency.
Answered by Sarah Dines
The Home Office publishes quarterly and annual statistics regarding the National Referral Mechanism (NRM). These include the average time taken to make a Conclusive Grounds Decision. The latest published NRM statistics can be found here:
National Referral Mechanism statistics - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).
As outlined in the Modern Slavery: Statutory Guidance for England and Wales (under s49 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015) and Non-Statutory Guidance for Scotland and Northern Ireland, the expectation is that the Competent Authority will make a Reasonable Grounds decision within five working days, where possible, of the NRM referral being received. There is no target to make a Conclusive Grounds decision within a specific timeframe. A decision can only be made fairly and reasonably once sufficient information has been made available to the Competent Authority for it to complete the decision. When the relevant Competent Authority has received sufficient information for it to complete a decision it should seek to do so as soon as possible but only once a minimum Recovery and Reflection Period has passed, unless the relevant Competent Authority has received a request to delay the decision. The Recovery and Reflection period begins when the relevant competent authority makes a positive Reasonable Grounds decision.
Asked by: Jess Phillips (Labour - Birmingham, Yardley)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, which National Referral Mechanism first responder agencies referred people who were found to be exploiting the modern slavery system in (a) 2020, (b) 2021 and (c) 2022 as of 7 November 2022; and how many of these cases were brought by each National Referral Mechanism first responder agency.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
As you will be aware, the National Referral Mechanism (NRM) is the UK’s framework for identifying victims of modern slavery. A First Responder Organisation (FRO) is an authority that is authorised to refer a potential victim of modern slavery into the NRM. Members of staff at those FROs have a responsibility for discharging one or more of the functions of the FRO, including recognising the indicators of modern slavery and identifying potential victims of modern slavery, and subsequently referring those potential victims into the NRM.
Decisions about who is then recognised and confirmed as a victim of modern slavery are made by trained specialists in one of the Home Office competent authorities (Single Competent Authority (SCA) and the Immigration Enforcement Competent Authority (IECA)).
The competent authorities’ assessment of whether an individual is a victim of modern slavery is two-stage process. A competent authority will first make a decision as to whether there is enough evidence available such that it ‘suspects but cannot prove’ that the individual is a victim of modern slavery. This is the reasonable grounds (RG) decision. Where a positive decision is issued the competent authority will then go on to gather further information about the case and then make a second decision on ‘the balance of probabilities’ whether that individual is a victim of modern slavery; this is the conclusive grounds (CG) decision.
Asked by: Jess Phillips (Labour - Birmingham, Yardley)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the letter dated 27 June 2022 from Lorraine Harris, Area Coroner for Kingston Upon Hull and the East Riding of Yorkshire, to the Secretary of State for the Home Department setting out the coroner's recommendations as a result of the inquest into the death of Jessica Louise Laverack and requesting a response by 23 August 2022, for what reason her Department has not responded to the letter.
Answered by Sarah Dines
The Home Office responded to the Prevention of Future Death report from Lorraine Harris, Area Coroner for Kingston Upon Hull and the East Riding of Yorkshire on the 23 August 2022. We have since followed up with the Coroner’s office to ensure that they received our letter.
It is devastating that some victims of domestic abuse are taking their own lives. Developing the evidence base and interventions for suicides that follow domestic abuse is a key priority for the Home Office. In the Tackling Domestic Abuse Plan, we committed to continue to a package of measures to better understand and begin to tackle suicides which take place following domestic abuse.
Asked by: Jess Phillips (Labour - Birmingham, Yardley)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the oral contribution of the Minister for Safeguarding on 5 September, Official Report, column 16, in response to the Question of the hon. Member for Jarrow on Deaths following Domestic Abuse, how many (a) domestic homicides, (b) domestic abuse-related (i) unexplained and (ii) suspicious deaths and (c) suspected suicides of individuals with a known history of domestic abuse victimisation have been recorded in each year since March 2020.
Answered by Sarah Dines
Information on domestic homicides is available on the Home Office Homicide Index. In the year ending March 2021, there were 114 domestic homicides recorded by the police in England and Wales[1].
The Home Office have awarded £733,369 in funding over the last three years to the National Police Chiefs Council (NPCC) and College of Policing working with the Vulnerability Knowledge and Practice Programme (VKPP), to track and review all deaths within a domestic setting and share learning rapidly with frontline policing. This Domestic Homicide Project has recorded the number of unexplained deaths as a result of or following domestic abuse and suspected suicides of individuals with a known history of domestic abuse victimisation since 23 March 2020.
From 23 March 2020 - 31 March 2021, the project recorded 39 suspected suicides of individuals aged 16 or over, with a known history of domestic abuse victimisation and 14 unexplained deaths, where the victim was aged 16 or over, and where there was a prior record of domestic abuse involving the victim and/or suspects[2].
[1] Homicide in England and Wales - Office for National Statistics (ons.gov.uk)
[2] Domestic Homicides and Suspected Victim suicides - Vulnerability Knowledge and Practice Programme
Asked by: Jess Phillips (Labour - Birmingham, Yardley)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many police forces in (a) England and (b) Wales contain operational rape and serious sexual offences units.
Answered by Jeremy Quin
The Government is committed to ensuring that victims and survivors of rape and sexual offences have their case treated seriously from the point of disclosure.
We recognise that having police officers with the right skills is critical in ensuring cases are managed appropriately and effectively. We are supporting the police to ensure this is the case through:
The structuring of police forces is an operational matter for Chief Constables and information on the number of specialist units is not collated centrally.
Asked by: Jess Phillips (Labour - Birmingham, Yardley)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, in the context of delays in cases coming to trial for sexual offences, whether extra police monitoring is currently in place for people accused of sexual offences while they are awaiting trial.
Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
Protecting women and girls from violence and supporting victims and survivors of sexual violence is a key priority for this Government. In June 2021, we published the End-to-End Rape Review Report and Action Plan which outlined a robust programme of work that aims to achieve a significant improvement in the way the criminal justice system responds to rape and sexual offences against adults.
Where the police consider an individual poses a risk which means they require additional monitoring while awaiting trial, there are additional tools available.
The Bail Act 1976 governs the duties resting on a person granted bail in criminal proceedings and the various requirements which may be attached to a grant of bail. The court may impose a wide range of additional requirements by granting bail subject to specific conditions, known as 'conditional bail' (s. 3(6)). Consideration should always be given to the use of appropriate bail conditions if there is a fear of attack, intimidation of harassment.
Individuals who are already convicted of a sexual offence may be subject to the notification requirements for registered sex offenders and/or may have requirements imposed on them via a Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO).
Individuals who have not been convicted of any offence but who pose a risk of harm to the public in the UK and/or children or vulnerable adults abroad may be made subject to a Sexual Risk Order (SRO). Both orders can place a range of restrictions on individuals depending on the nature of the case, including preventing travel abroad. Where appropriate, an interim order may be applied for to manage risk while the court process is ongoing.
The Home Office publishes data on the number of sexual offences with a charge within its ‘Police recorded outcomes’ Tables. However, it is not possible to identify if the person charged was awaiting a trial.
Asked by: Jess Phillips (Labour - Birmingham, Yardley)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people awaiting trial for sexual offences charges have been (a) accused of and (ii) charged with further sexual offences during the waiting period in each year since 2018.
Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
Protecting women and girls from violence and supporting victims and survivors of sexual violence is a key priority for this Government. In June 2021, we published the End-to-End Rape Review Report and Action Plan which outlined a robust programme of work that aims to achieve a significant improvement in the way the criminal justice system responds to rape and sexual offences against adults.
Where the police consider an individual poses a risk which means they require additional monitoring while awaiting trial, there are additional tools available.
The Bail Act 1976 governs the duties resting on a person granted bail in criminal proceedings and the various requirements which may be attached to a grant of bail. The court may impose a wide range of additional requirements by granting bail subject to specific conditions, known as 'conditional bail' (s. 3(6)). Consideration should always be given to the use of appropriate bail conditions if there is a fear of attack, intimidation of harassment.
Individuals who are already convicted of a sexual offence may be subject to the notification requirements for registered sex offenders and/or may have requirements imposed on them via a Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO).
Individuals who have not been convicted of any offence but who pose a risk of harm to the public in the UK and/or children or vulnerable adults abroad may be made subject to a Sexual Risk Order (SRO). Both orders can place a range of restrictions on individuals depending on the nature of the case, including preventing travel abroad. Where appropriate, an interim order may be applied for to manage risk while the court process is ongoing.
The Home Office publishes data on the number of sexual offences with a charge within its ‘Police recorded outcomes’ Tables. However, it is not possible to identify if the person charged was awaiting a trial.