Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what training regional organised crime units have received on enforcement of labour standards as a means of preventing human trafficking for labour exploitation.

Regional organised crime units (ROCUs) are the primary interface between the National Crime Agency (NCA) and local police forces. They support the effort against serious and organised crime by providing capabilities which enhance the
police response against regionally impacting activity, including Modern Slavery. Minimum standards, including mandatory training and accreditation, have been set by the College of Policing, for some of the ROCUs’ core capabilities.
This does not include specific training on the enforcement of labour standards; anything undertaken above the minimum requirements is at the discretion of each ROCU’s leadership to provide.

As set out in the Modern Slavery Strategy, the National Policing Lead, Shaun Sawyer, is leading work to promote a requirement that all officers and staff responsible for tackling modern slavery have received appropriate training,
drawing on the training packages developed by the College of Policing. In addition, a human trafficking awareness package is available to NCA officers, while human trafficking, relevant legislation and obligations feature in the
training undertaken by all NCA investigators.