Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 28 January 2015 to Question 221886, how many cases of forced labour have been found by local authorities during pro-active inspection of houses of multiple occupation in the last five years; and what training his Department provides to officials in local authorities on (a) the indicators of forced labour and (b) working with victims of trauma.

The Department does not collect information on the number of local authority inspections of Houses in Multiple Occupation. The Department does not have policy responsibility for forced labour or victims of trauma, consequently local authority officers do not receive training from my Department on the indicators of forced labour or working with victims of trauma. To support local authorities, we have just published revised guidance on tackling rogue landlords, as well as beds in sheds. This builds on the £6.7 million the Government has given councils to tackle rogue landlords in their area. To date, nearly 40,000 properties have been inspected and over 3,000 landlords are now facing further action or prosecution for breaking the law.