Asked by: Carla Lockhart (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps she is taking to help ensure that international surrogacy arrangements meet the same a) standards and b) checks as international adoption laws.
Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer the Hon member to the answer provided to question HL6361 on 31 March 2025, a copy of which is reproduced below for ease of reference:
The UK does not support international surrogacy involving any form of exploitation and is committed to eradicating all forms of modern slavery, forced labour and human trafficking in line with Sustainable Development Goal 8.7. Globally the UK is proud to defend and promote universal and comprehensive sexual and reproductive health and rights. At the multilateral level, and through our diplomatic and Official Development Assistance partnerships, we advocate that all people have the right to make informed decisions about childbearing, including if, whether and when to have children. Family planning interventions, including surrogacy, must always be voluntary and rooted in a human rights-based approach.
Asked by: Baroness Lister of Burtersett (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Hanson of Flint on 22 December 2025 (HL12809), what criteria they are using to select specific individuals out of those eligible for removal to France under the 'one-in, one-out' scheme.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The pilot was agreed with both France and the European Commission in order to ensure it is compliant with domestic, European and International law. Eligibility criteria are set out in the Agreement.
The pilot operates within existing legal frameworks and policies. All individuals will have their cases reviewed regularly in line with standard policies and guidance, and this includes both while detained and if any claims of being a victim of torture or of human trafficking and modern slavery are raised.
Decisions on continuing suitability for detention are made on a case-by-case basis.
Detained individuals are advised of their right to legal representation, and how they can obtain such representation, within 24 hours of their arrival at an Immigration Removal Centre (IRC). Ahead of pilot launch and throughout its duration, the Home Office has engaged with officials from the Ministry of Justice and the judiciary to ensure individuals have access to justice. The Home Office continues to engage with a wide range of NGOs and other external stakeholders.
Asked by: Baroness Lister of Burtersett (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have consulted non-governmental organisations, immigration lawyers and legal aid experts about whether people facing removal under the 'one in, one out' scheme have sufficient time to access legal representation or challenge removal decisions.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The pilot was agreed with both France and the European Commission in order to ensure it is compliant with domestic, European and International law. Eligibility criteria are set out in the Agreement.
The pilot operates within existing legal frameworks and policies. All individuals will have their cases reviewed regularly in line with standard policies and guidance, and this includes both while detained and if any claims of being a victim of torture or of human trafficking and modern slavery are raised.
Decisions on continuing suitability for detention are made on a case-by-case basis.
Detained individuals are advised of their right to legal representation, and how they can obtain such representation, within 24 hours of their arrival at an Immigration Removal Centre (IRC). Ahead of pilot launch and throughout its duration, the Home Office has engaged with officials from the Ministry of Justice and the judiciary to ensure individuals have access to justice. The Home Office continues to engage with a wide range of NGOs and other external stakeholders.
Asked by: Baroness Lister of Burtersett (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what support is offered to potential victims of torture, trafficking or modern slavery who may face removal under the 'one in, one out' scheme.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The pilot was agreed with both France and the European Commission in order to ensure it is compliant with domestic, European and International law. Eligibility criteria are set out in the Agreement.
The pilot operates within existing legal frameworks and policies. All individuals will have their cases reviewed regularly in line with standard policies and guidance, and this includes both while detained and if any claims of being a victim of torture or of human trafficking and modern slavery are raised.
Decisions on continuing suitability for detention are made on a case-by-case basis.
Detained individuals are advised of their right to legal representation, and how they can obtain such representation, within 24 hours of their arrival at an Immigration Removal Centre (IRC). Ahead of pilot launch and throughout its duration, the Home Office has engaged with officials from the Ministry of Justice and the judiciary to ensure individuals have access to justice. The Home Office continues to engage with a wide range of NGOs and other external stakeholders.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to improve early detection of human trafficking.
Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The Government is committed to tackling modern slavery and human trafficking in all its forms and to giving survivors the support they need to recover. The National Referral Mechanism (NRM) is the UK’s framework for identifying and supporting potential victims of modern slavery.
In July 2025, the Home Office launched a public Call for Evidence on how the Government can improve the process of identifying victims of modern slavery, human trafficking and exploitation. The Home Office is now analysing the responses received and will be engaging with survivors to explore the emerging themes further.
The Home Office has also made a number of improvements to the NRM referral form following consultation with a range of experts. These changes aim to improve the quality of referrals, support more informed decision-making, and ensure the form better reflects the experiences of potential victims in a trauma-informed way.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to help tackle human trafficking.
Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The Government remains firmly committed to ensuring that all victims of modern slavery and human trafficking are effectively identified and supported to rebuild their lives, while taking action to bring those who exploit vulnerable people to justice.
In March 2025 the Modern Slavery Action Plan was shared, this sets out the first steps in our ambitious vision to tackle modern slavery across the whole system.
In July 2025, the Home Office launched a public Call for Evidence on how the Government can further improve the process of identifying victims of modern slavery, human trafficking and exploitation. This closed on 8 October 2025, and officials are analysing the responses received.
In addition, as set out in the Restoring Order and Control policy statement, published in November 2025 we are committed to bring forward new legislation on modern slavery to clarify our obligations and enable us to address potential misuse while maintaining essential protections.
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion Preseli)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she made of the potential merits of including provisions for a statutory Independent Child Exploitation Advocate, modelled on section 48 of the Modern Slavery Act, in the Crime and Policing Bill.
Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The government is not currently exploring separate exploitation advocates as the Independent Child Trafficking Guardianship (ICTG) service exists as an independent source of advice, advocacy and support for potential child victims of modern slavery, exploitation and human trafficking in the National Referral Mechanism (NRM).
In line with Section 48 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015, the Government is committed to providing a national ICTG service in England and Wales.
The ICTG service was initially introduced in 2017 and a staggered approach to rollout was taken to allow time to trial an effective model of delivery. This has enabled the Home Office to test and evaluate different models of service delivery, expanding and adapting as necessary to develop a model that is suitable for national provision. In September 2025, the invitation-to-tender for the national contract was launched, which will expand the current service coverage from two-thirds of local authorities to all child victims referred into the NRM in England and Wales. The tender process is now underway and updates to legislation are currently being considered.
Statutory first responders must refer all potential victims of modern slavery, trafficking and exploitation into the NRM to ensure they are appropriately identified and provided with support. Whilst local authorities are responsible for safeguarding and promoting the welfare of all children in their area, referring a child potential victim into the NRM ensures that child potential victims of exploitation, modern slavery and human trafficking in the NRM will also get support from the ICTG service.
Independent Sexual Violence Advisers (ISVAs) also play a critical role in supporting victims and survivors and their families. We have commissioned a rapid assessment of the current ISVA support service and resource landscape, specifically for children and young people who are victims of grooming gangs, including technology-facilitated abuse.
Asked by: Paul Kohler (Liberal Democrat - Wimbledon)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent assessment she has made of the prevalence of human trafficking for the purposes of sexual exploitation in the UK; and what additional measures are being taken to strengthen protections for victims and increase successful prosecutions.
Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The trafficking of women and girls for sexual exploitation is a truly horrific crime. This Government has set out a mission to halve violence against women and girls in a decade, and we will use all the levers available to us to deliver this ambition. This is why the recently published Violence Against Women and Girls Strategy includes a series of measures to tackle sexual exploitation and to better support victims and survivors.
Victims of sexual exploitation make up a large proportion of referrals to the National Referral Mechanism. The most recent annual statistics show that in 2024, sexual exploitation (either partly or wholly) accounted for 17% (3,266) of all referrals. Of these, the majority of those referred were females (79%; 2,564).
The Government is working closely with law enforcement to tackle the drivers of trafficking for sexual exploitation, including through law enforcement activity aimed at tackling modern slavery threats and targeting prolific perpetrators. Also, the National Police Lead for modern slavery is leading Project Turnstone, which will develop a new framework for investigating modern slavery and includes a suite of products to guide forces to identify and tackle sexual exploitation.
To support victims to escape and recover from their exploitation, the Modern Slavery Victim Care Contract provides support to adult potential and confirmed victims of exploitation and trafficking in England and Wales. This support includes safe accommodation where necessary, financial support and a support worker to help them access wider support services, including medical treatment, legal aid, legal representatives, and legal advice.
We recently ran a public Call for Evidence on how the Government can improve the process of identifying victims of modern slavery, including for victims who have been trafficked for sexual exploitation. Following analysis of the responses from this Call for Evidence, we will consider whether any future policy changes are needed.
Asked by: Matt Vickers (Conservative - Stockton West)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent steps she has taken to disrupt organised criminal gangs involved in human trafficking.
Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The Government is committed to tackling all forms of modern slavery, including human trafficking and ensuring that victims are identified and supported and offenders are brought to justice. The Modern Slavery Action Plan for 2025-2026 sets out the Government’s ambition to do this.
Under the Action Plan, we are working closely with law enforcement partners in the UK and internationally, to share intelligence to identify organised criminal gangs and tackle the enablers of human trafficking to disrupt offending. This includes implementing measures through the Online Safety Act; providing support through the Modern Slavery Fund to tackle modern slavery at source and reduce the threat both overseas and to the UK; and commissioning research to better under the nexus between organised immigration crime and modern slavery, to identify new ways to break criminals’ business models.
The National Police Chief Council Lead for Modern Slavery and Organised Immigration Crime is also developing a new national framework for investigating modern slavery, which is designed to support police officers at every stage of the investigative process to secure better outcomes.
Asked by: Matt Vickers (Conservative - Stockton West)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, What recent discussions his Department has had with partners to counter human trafficking and modern slavery in global supply chains.
Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The issues raised by the Hon Member are all significant priorities for the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), and he can find regular updates about them by consulting the FCDO's annual reports, following the FCDO news feed on GOV.UK, or attending sessions of FCDO departmental questions.