Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she plans to make the punishment of people traffickers more severe to increase its deterrent effect.

The Modern Slavery Act 2015 increased the maximum sentence for modern slavery offences from 14 years to life imprisonment. The Act also gave law enforcement agencies the power to seize traffickers’ assets and introduced risk and prevention orders which restrict the activities of traffickers outside prison if they are judged to pose a serious threat.

Earlier this year, the Government commissioned the barrister Caroline Haughey to carry out an independent review of the operation of the criminal justice provisions in the Modern Slavery Act. Ms Haughey found that the Act had set an international benchmark to which other jurisdictions aspire, and recommended that we do more to ensure that law enforcement agencies use the Act to full effect.

The Government agrees and the Prime Minister recently announced that she will be chairing a modern slavery taskforce to ensure that we leave no stone unturned in bringing the perpetrators of this vile crime to justice.