Asked by: Karen Bradley (Conservative - Staffordshire Moorlands)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what training requirements her Department plans to include in outsourcing contracts for people undertaking asylum interviews to identify cases of human trafficking and modern-day slavery.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
Asylum Operations are exploring many options to reduce the number of outstanding asylum claims. Alongside seeking temporary resource from within the Home Office and other government departments, we are also exploring with third-party suppliers to test the viability of whether they can deliver the support required as a temporary, short term measure. Asylum interviews have not been outsourced, and at this stage we are only exploring the potential feasibility.
Third party interviewing officers will complete a bespoke training package, delivered by the qualified asylum operations training team, that has been designed specifically to meet their needs. The course will include training specifically about modern slavery and safeguarding awareness. Anyone who conducts asylum interviews receives thorough training to ensure they are fully equipped for the role.
To guarantee governance and accountability, mechanisms are in place to provide oversight of third-party interviews, the department has a quality assurance process which assesses the quality of decisions, interviews and the application of Home Office policy. This will include those interviews conducted by third party interviewing officers
Asked by: Karen Bradley (Conservative - Staffordshire Moorlands)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many potential victims of modern slavery were identified and referred to the National Referral Mechanism at (a) seaports, (b) airports and (c) rail ports in each year from 2016 to 2019 inclusive.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
The location from which a First Responder identified and referred a potential victim of modern slavery to the National Referral Mechanism (NRM) is not captured in a reportable format.
The Home Office publishes statistics on referrals into the National Referral Mechanism on a quarterly basis. These reports detail the number of referrals submitted into the NRM by Border Force, however they are not broken down by port. These reports can be located via the following links:
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/national-referral-mechanism-statistics
Asked by: Karen Bradley (Conservative - Staffordshire Moorlands)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many (a) identified potential victims of human trafficking or modern slavery and (b) persons prosecuted for human trafficking or modern slavery offences were stopped from entering the UK having tried to enter with forged, illegal or fraudulent documents or were otherwise undocumented in each calendar year from 2016 to 2019 inclusive.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
The specific information requested is not readily available and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost. This is because a manual search through individual records would be required to identify individuals who have been refused entry to the UK from 2016 to 2019 as well as searching such records to identify victims of modern slavery who were identified and referred to the National Referral Mechanism
Tackling human trafficking and modern slavery, both in the UK and overseas, is a priority for the government. The Modern Slavery Act 2015 gives law enforcement agencies the tools to tackle modern slavery and provides protection for victims. The Modern Slavery Act also includes powers which enable law enforcement officers, including Border Force, to pursue modern slavery perpetrators at sea.
Border Force has a duty of care to all crossing the border and adults with vulnerability for any reason will be dealt with respect and care.
The Home Office publishes statistics on referrals into the National Referral Mechanism on a quarterly basis. These reports detail the number of referrals submitted into the NRM by Border Force, however they are not broken down by port. These reports can be located via the following links:
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/national-referral-mechanism-statistics
Asked by: Karen Bradley (Conservative - Staffordshire Moorlands)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many individuals have been refused entry to the UK at all ports of entry as a result of convictions for human trafficking and modern slavery or similar offences (a) in the UK, (b) in the EU and (c) in the rest of the world, in each calendar year from 2016 to 2019 inclusive.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
The specific information you have requested is not readily available and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost. This is because a manual search through individual records would be required to identify individuals have been refused entry to the UK from 2016 to 2019 inclusive
We do not hold data on those refused in EU countries and the rest of the world
Tackling human trafficking and modern slavery, both in the UK and overseas, is a priority for the government. The Modern Slavery Act 2015 gives law enforcement agencies the tools to tackle modern slavery and provides protection for victims. The Modern Slavery Act also includes powers which enable law enforcement officers, including Border Force, to pursue modern slavery perpetrators at sea.
Border Force has a duty of care to all crossing the border and adults with vulnerability for any reason will be dealt with respect and care.
Asked by: Karen Bradley (Conservative - Staffordshire Moorlands)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many exit checks (a) in person and (b) using automated processes were carried out for EEA and Swiss nationals departing from all UK ports and airports in (i) 2018 and (ii) 2019; and what information those checks recorded.
Answered by Kevin Foster
We re-introduced exit checks in April 2015 to further complement our work on border security, plus support the Home Office’s wider work to deal with illegal immigration.
The vast majority of passengers leaving the country on scheduled commercial international air, sea and rail routes now go through exit checks. The data collected is already providing the police and security services with information to help track the movements of known criminals and terrorists.
Border Force hold data for outbound alerts issued by Border Force at the National Border Targeting Centre (NBTC). However, we do not hold a breakdown of the data in the format requested.
A variety of agencies, including Border Force, undertake in person outbound interventions, as a result of this activity there is no single record held on their respective outcomes.
Government is working to ensure all parties including other government departments, traders, industry and passengers are prepared for the changes which will come into effect at the UK border on 1 January 2021.
Asked by: Karen Bradley (Conservative - Staffordshire Moorlands)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what progress has been made on introducing automated exit checks for people departing the UK; and whether exit checks will be carried out on (a) all travellers and (b) at all ports from 1 January 2021.
Answered by Kevin Foster
We re-introduced exit checks in April 2015 to further complement our work on border security, plus support the Home Office’s wider work to deal with illegal immigration.
The vast majority of passengers leaving the country on scheduled commercial international air, sea and rail routes now go through exit checks. The data collected is already providing the police and security services with information to help track the movements of known criminals and terrorists.
Border Force hold data for outbound alerts issued by Border Force at the National Border Targeting Centre (NBTC). However, we do not hold a breakdown of the data in the format requested.
A variety of agencies, including Border Force, undertake in person outbound interventions, as a result of this activity there is no single record held on their respective outcomes.
Government is working to ensure all parties including other government departments, traders, industry and passengers are prepared for the changes which will come into effect at the UK border on 1 January 2021.
Asked by: Karen Bradley (Conservative - Staffordshire Moorlands)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential for visa-free entry for EEA national visitors after the end of free movement to be abused by human traffickers to exploit EEA nationals in the UK; and what plans she has to prevent such exploitation.
Answered by Kevin Foster
At the end of the Transition Period EEA nationals will become subject to immigration control.
The UK does not intend to subject EEA visitors to a visa requirement at the end of the transition period. Visitors to the UK are assessed against the same suitability and eligibility requirements regardless of nationality. The only difference between visa nationals and non-visa nationals is where the assessment of their suitability and eligibility for entry to the UK is carried out, therefore the absence of a visa requirement does not materially change the risk of being exploited.
We continue to fulfil our public sector equality duties under s149 of the Equality Act 2010. ?We have prepared an overarching equality impactassessment (EIA) for the future points-based system. This will continue to be considered as policies are developed.
We are carefully considering the conclusions made by the Windrush Lessons Learned Review?and?will ensure further evaluation is taken forward in line with these recommendations.
Asked by: Karen Bradley (Conservative - Staffordshire Moorlands)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when she plans to update the Modern Slavery Strategy.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
The UK Government is committed to tackling the heinous crime of modern slavery and bringing those individuals responsible both in the UK and overseas to justice. The response is underpinned by the Modern Slavery Strategy 2014 and the Modern Slavery Act 2015, the first legislation of its kind in the world.
The Government is identifying more victims of modern slavery and doing more to bring perpetrators to justice than ever before. In 2019, the Government’s manifesto included a commitment to continue the campaign to eradicate the scourge of modern slavery and human trafficking. In May 2020, at the Prime Minister’s Virtual Summit on Hidden Harms, the Government reiterated the absolute priority that we place on preventing and protecting those at risk from hidden harms, including modern slavery.
In addition, the Government recently established the National Referral Mechanism (NRM) Transformation Programme, which will address the challenges that the current NRM system faces. The NRM is the process by which the UK identifies and supports potential victims of modern slavery. Building on the successes of recent NRM reforms, the NRM Transformation Programme will make sure genuine victims have their cases settled promptly, receive support tailored to their needs, and are empowered to move on with their lives.
The UK is the first country in the world to require businesses to report on the steps they have taken to tackle modern slavery in their operations and global supply chains. This landmark ‘Transparency in Supply Chains’ provision in the Modern Slavery Act encourages a change in business culture, spotlighting modern slavery risks on boardroom agendas and within the international human rights community. In addition, on 26 March 2020, we became the first country to publish a Government Modern Slavery Statement setting out the steps we have taken to identify and prevent modern slavery in our own supply chains.