Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when she plans to update the Modern Slavery Strategy.

The UK Government is committed to tackling the heinous crime of modern slavery and bringing those individuals responsible both in the UK and overseas to justice. The response is underpinned by the Modern Slavery Strategy 2014 and the Modern Slavery Act 2015, the first legislation of its kind in the world.

The Government is identifying more victims of modern slavery and doing more to bring perpetrators to justice than ever before. In 2019, the Government’s manifesto included a commitment to continue the campaign to eradicate the scourge of modern slavery and human trafficking. In May 2020, at the Prime Minister’s Virtual Summit on Hidden Harms, the Government reiterated the absolute priority that we place on preventing and protecting those at risk from hidden harms, including modern slavery.

In addition, the Government recently established the National Referral Mechanism (NRM) Transformation Programme, which will address the challenges that the current NRM system faces. The NRM is the process by which the UK identifies and supports potential victims of modern slavery. Building on the successes of recent NRM reforms, the NRM Transformation Programme will make sure genuine victims have their cases settled promptly, receive support tailored to their needs, and are empowered to move on with their lives.

The UK is the first country in the world to require businesses to report on the steps they have taken to tackle modern slavery in their operations and global supply chains. This landmark ‘Transparency in Supply Chains’ provision in the Modern Slavery Act encourages a change in business culture, spotlighting modern slavery risks on boardroom agendas and within the international human rights community. In addition, on 26 March 2020, we became the first country to publish a Government Modern Slavery Statement setting out the steps we have taken to identify and prevent modern slavery in our own supply chains.