Question to the Home Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the remarks by Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay on 7 September (HL Deb, cols 620–2), whether they will place in the Library of the House a copy of the analysis of which rights within the EU Anti-Trafficking Directive 2011/36/EU will have direct effect in the UK on 1 January 2021, notwithstanding any court judgments made before the end of the year.

The Government is committed to eradicating human trafficking and the scourge of modern slavery.

As Lord Parkinson rightly noted, the UK currently gives effect to obligations on modern slavery under Council of the Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings (ECAT), Article 4 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) and the EU Anti-Trafficking Directive (2011/36), through the Modern Slavery Act 2015 and policy guidance.

At the end of the EU Exit transition period in December 2020, the UK will no longer be bound by EU law. The Modern Slavery Act 2015 and relevant policy guidance will be unaffected. The UK will remain bound by international obligations in relation to preventing and combatting human trafficking and modern slavery – most notably ECAT and Article 4 ECHR, neither of which have been impacted by our exit from the EU.

We are implementing a programme of work to transform how we identify and support victims of modern slavery, emphasising our continued commitment to a world-leading system having left the European Union.