Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what contractual obligations on the handling of potential victims and victims of human trafficking are placed on her Department's contractors operating Immigration Removal Centres.

There is a general duty of care on contractors to highlight to the Home Office any concerns they have about the welfare of detainees, but there are no specific contractual obligations for service providers operating immigration removal centres (IRCs) to report or manage individuals as potential victims or victims of trafficking.

The decision to refer a person as a potential victim of trafficking or slavery into the National Referral Mechanism (NRM), which identifies and supports potential victims, is made by a First Responder. Home Office staff working in IRCs can act as First Responders. Potential victims and Serco staff or any other contractor working in an IRC are not defined as First Responders but they may highlight a trafficking/slavery claim to Home Office staff who will then determine what action needs to be taken.