Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether there is a dedicated case-work team in the National Referral Mechanism hub that makes decisions on referrals made on behalf of potential victims of trafficking who are in detention.

When referred into the National Referral Mechanism, potential victims of trafficking or modern slavery are considered by one of the UK’s competent authorities: the National Crime Agency (NCA), UK Visas & Immigration (UKVI), and Immigration Enforcement (IE) for a very small number of cases.

The consideration of referrals for potential victims of trafficking who are detained and are not UK or EEA nationals is conducted by trained decision makers within UKVI and IE, depending on the nature of the detention. The consideration of referrals for UK and EEA nationals is conducted by the NCA.