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Independent Review of the Modern Slavery Act 2015: Final Report

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Independent Review of the Modern Slavery Act 2015: Final Report Independent Review of the Modern Slavery Act 2015: Final Report Presented to Parliament by the Secretary of State for the Home Department by Command of Her Majesty May 2019 CP 100 [APS to add any relevant information on the final page] Independent Review of the Modern Slavery Act 2015: Final Report Presented to Parliament by the Secretary of State for the Home Department by Command of Her Majesty May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Contents Foreword by Rt Hon Frank Field MP ............................................................................................ 7 Acknowledgements .................................................................................................................... 10 Introduction to the Review .......................................................................................................... 11 Full List of Recommendations .................................................................................................... 22 Volume I: The Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner (Part 4 of the Act) ............................... 30 Volume II: Transparency in supply chains (Section 54 of the Act) .............................................. 39 Volume III: Independent Child Trafficking Advocates (Section 48 of the Act) ............................. 48 Volume IV: Legal Application of the Modern Slavery Act (Sections 1-3, 8-10 and 45 of the Act)60 Annex A: Terms of Reference for the Independent Review of the Modern Slavery Act .............. 78 Annex B: Sections of the Modern Slavery Act within scope of the Review ................................. 80 Annex C: Other Relevant Legislation ........................................................................................ 106 Annex D: Models of UK and International Commissioners ....................................................... 133 Annex E: Full List of Contributors ............................................................................................. 137 Independent Review of the Modern Slavery Act 2015: Final report 5 Independent Review of the Modern Slavery Act 2015: Final report 6 Foreword by Rt Hon Frank Field MP Foreword to the Review by Rt Hon Frank Field MP, Chair Modern slavery is one of humanity’s greatest evils: involving human trafficking, forced labour, domestic servitude and sexual exploitation. We know that: The perpetrators of these crimes exploit the most vulnerable people in our society. Modern slavery pervades every country in the world and every community of the United Kingdom. The most conservative estimate of the number of victims of modern slavery in the UK is put at ten to thirteen thousand. Other bodies suggest the number could be in the hundreds of thousands and rising. The world-leading Modern Slavery Act was introduced in 2015 to tackle modern slavery in this country and set an example for other countries seeking to do the same. Four years on, many effects of the Act are apparent. It gives law enforcement agencies the tools to tackle modern slavery offences, including a maximum life sentence for perpetrators and enhanced protection for victims. But there are still sadly too few convictions being handed down for the new offences prosecuted under the Act, and too few Slavery and Trafficking Prevention and Risk Orders are in place to restrict offender activity. The Independent Review of the Modern Slavery Act, conducted by the Baroness Elizabeth Butler-Sloss, Maria Miller MP and myself, was established to look into the operations and effectiveness of the Act and to suggest potential improvements. In particular, we focused on four topics: transparency in supply chains, the role of the Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner, the Act’s legal application, and the safeguarding of child victims of Modern Slavery. The Modern Slavery Act was merely the beginning of a fightback, and implementation is as important as legislation. We have identified, for example, severe deficiencies in how data is collected in this area. Similarly, there needs to be greater awareness of modern slavery and consistent, high quality training among those most likely to encounter its victims. Without these changes, the impact of the Act will be limited. Through the Act, the UK became the first country in the world to introduce pioneering transparency in supply chains requirements, leading to thousands of large businesses taking action to identify and eradicate modern slavery from their supply chains. The Report recommends putting teeth into this part of the Act so that all businesses take seriously their responsibilities to check their supply chains. The provisions of the Modern Slavery Act must keep pace with the ever-evolving threats modern slavery presents, as well as the needs of the victims it is designed to protect. Since the Act was passed, we have seen the following changes and trends in modern slavery and human trafficking: Independent Review of the Modern Slavery Act 2015: Final report 7 The number of potential victims identified in the UK each year has more than doubled from 3266 in 2015 to 6993 in 20181. The proportion of children identified has increased during the same period from 30% to nearly 45%, in large part due to the rise in cases of county lines2 and other forms of criminal exploitation. UK nationals now represent by far the highest proportion of potential victims identified at almost a quarter of all those recorded, while in 2015 they were only the fifth most represented nationality behind Albania, Vietnam, Nigeria and Romania. This is again due to the rising number of children identified as being involved in county lines, most of whom are UK nationals. It is particularly important that the UK remains a leader of international efforts to combat modern slavery and continues to develop its domestic infrastructure to protect victims as we leave the European Union. The activity currently going on across the country and beyond against modern slavery makes the results of this Review the basis for urgent Government action. The Home Office is undertaking extensive reforms to the National Referral Mechanism into which potential victims of modern slavery are referred and supported; the Home Affairs Select Committee is conducting a wide-ranging inquiry that includes an assessment of victim support; and overseas, countries are developing fresh legislation and initiatives to tackle modern slavery from which we can learn and develop our own action. The questions we asked as a Review, and the recommendations we make, concern some of the most ambitious provisions contained within the Modern Slavery Act: how we ensure the Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner is strengthened in carrying out her functions; how we hold the Government and other public authorities to account on their approach to tackling modern slavery; how businesses begin on a wide scale to eradicate slavery from their supply chains; how we ensure victims of modern slavery, children in particular, are afforded the support and guidance they need to help them rebuild their lives; and how we much more effectively support victims and punish perpetrators. The Review team urges the Government to consider and act quickly and effectively upon the recommendations we set out in this report in a manner commensurate to the significance of the issues they address. Some of these recommendations require legislation, which should be brought in as soon as practicable, while those that do not should be implemented without delay. The Reviewers will be setting up an implementation group so we can continue to hold the Government to account on its commitment to eradicating modern slavery and human trafficking. We will also be undertaking a scoping review into laws surrounding prostitution in England and Wales and the extent to which they help or hinder police action against trafficking for sexual exploitation. We also invite the new Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner, Sara Thornton CBE, QPM, whom we met in March, to monitor the Government’s actions. She has a vitally 1 Potential victims of modern slavery are identified and supported through the National Referral Mechanism. The National Crime Agency produces annual reports on the numbers and profiles of individuals referred to it. 2 The Children’s Society defines county lines as when gangs and organised crime networks exploit children to sell drugs. Often these children are made to travel across counties, and they use dedicated mobile phone ‘lines’ to supply drugs. Independent Review of the Modern Slavery Act 2015: Final report 8 important and formidable task in her new role and we wish her well. My fellow Reviewers and I are grateful to all those who have helped us to conduct this Review: in particular our Expert Advisers and secretariat team. The energy with
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