Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 28 February 2023 to Question 148612 on Slavery, how the assurance function of the Multi-Agency Assurance Panels (MAAPs) is being carried out; what the timeline for the introduction of the remodelled assurance process is; if he will make it his policy to temporarily reinstate the MAAPs while the remodelled process is being developed; and if he will make a statement.

To reduce decision making delays in the National Referral Mechanism (NRM), MAAPs were removed from the process in December 2022

All negative reasonable grounds and conclusive grounds decisions continue to require a second pair of eyes review by another caseworker or manager and the Competent Authorities continue to undertake internal assurance of both positive and negative Reasonable Grounds and Conclusive Grounds decisions.

The Home Office continues to give consideration towards an alternative process that can provide appropriate assurance and drive further improvements to NRM decision making in such a way that does not add time to service of outcomes.