Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether the Illegal Migration Bill includes exemptions from (a) detention and (b) removal from the UK for people who have (i) entered the UK illegally as a result of trafficking and (ii) been referred to the police as a potential victim of modern slavery under the National Referral Mechanism.

Under the provisions of the Illegal Migration Bill, those who arrive illegally will be liable to detention and will be removed to their home country or to a safe third country.

Under clause 21, a person subject to the clause 2 duty to make removal arrangements and who receives a positive Modern Slavery Reasonable Grounds decision will, subject to limited exceptions, be disqualified from the benefits of the National Referral Mechanism and arrangements for their removal will be made in line with the duty in clause 2 of the Bill

Clauses 21 to 24 are not blanket approaches, as individuals may be exempt from a public order disqualification in specific circumstances. Namely, the exemption applies where the Secretary of State satisfied that the person is cooperating with a public authority in connection with an investigation or criminal proceedings relating to the alleged exploitation, and the Secretary of State considers that it is necessary for the person to be present in the UK to provide that cooperation. The legislative detail of this exemption is set out in clause 21 of the Illegal Migration Bill.