Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what powers her Department has when notified by the submission of an MS1 form of a potential victim of modern slavery in the event that the alleged victim has not consented to being referred.

Section 52 of the Modern Slavery Act places a duty on specified public authorities to notify the Secretary of State, or if so provided by the Secretary of State in regulations, another public authority, where there are reasonable grounds to believe that a person may be a victim of slavery or human trafficking.

Section 52, Subsection (3) provides that identifying information about an adult potential victim of slavery or trafficking should only be included in a notification where the individual concerned has given their consent.

In the event that a potential victim does not consent to be referred into the NRM process, Home Office powers extend as far as is enabled by existing legislation. The Modern Slavery Unit will ensure that any MS1 forms received are referred to the relevant police force, if not already done so by the first responder making the referral. In addition, the Home Office collects MS1 data to share with operational partners including the police and National Crime Agency to improve the understanding of the nature and scale of modern slavery.