Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to help tackle human trafficking in Northern Ireland.

The Home Office works closely with law enforcement agencies and prosecution services to strengthen the operational response to modern slavery and human trafficking, and identify any barriers to prosecution. However, under the devolution settlement for Northern Ireland, responsibility for the policy and legislative response to modern slavery and human trafficking, including policing and criminal justice, rests with the Government of Northern Ireland.

The National Referral Mechanism (NRM) identification system operates UK-wide and the Home Office Competent Authorities identify victims of modern slavery for cases referred in Northern Ireland; the Northern Ireland Executive have voluntarily ‘opted in’ to this model.

In terms of improving identification and decision-making for child victims, the devolved decision-making pilot launched in 2021. The pilot enables decisions about whether a child is a victim of modern slavery to be made by those involved in their care. It also ensures that decisions are closely aligned with the provision of local, needs-based support and any law enforcement response. The pilot has seen a range of benefits including reduced decision-making time, better local understanding of the NRM, modern slavery and exploitation, and improved multi-agency join-up. Following its recent expansion in 2025, it now covers 39 local authorities across England, Wales and Scotland, as well as all Health and Social Care Trusts in Northern Ireland.