Modern slavery strategy 'yet to result in coherent action', MPs find

Public Accounts Committee does not know 'how much money it spends tackling modern slavery or what success looks like'

Agriculture is one of the industries identified as a risk for modern slavery in the UK (National Crime Agency)

Modern slavery is not fully understood by the government and it has no idea if its crackdown is working, MPs have said, while warning that Brexit could worsen the situation.

The Public Accounts Committee concluded that “good intentions have yet to result in coherent action” against the crimes, with no measure of success for a nationwide strategy and inconsistency between regional police forces.

A report on work to reduce modern slavery found that the government has not calculated the number of modern slaves in Britain, after making an estimate of 10,000 to 13,000 in 2013, or how much money it has spent combating the issue.

More potential victims are being reported to the dedicated National Referral Mechanism than ever before, with Brits becoming the largest group of victims for the first time last year, but it does not record what happens to them next.

MPs found that the government was not gathering enough data to understand modern slavery or the demographics and circumstances of the victims and the perpetrators, making tackling it difficult.

They said officials have not set targets to judge success, meaning they cannot establish whether the strategy is working or how it should prioritise its actions

Meg Hiller, chair of the Public Accounts Committee, said: “Victims of modern slavery can face unimaginable horrors but the government’s good intentions have yet to result in coherent action to help them.

“The government cannot hope to target resources in an effective manner until it properly understands the scale and nature of the challenge. This crime is complex and a piecemeal approach will not cut it.

“The government must get a grip on what works and what doesn’t – when things change, it must be sufficiently informed and agile to respond.”

Ms Hillier said long waits for officials to make decisions on whether people should be treated as victims of modern slavery was compounding their distress, while monitoring of support services is poor and there are “worrying variations” in the response of local police forces.

“Brexit may complicate the picture further and it is critical that government acts swiftly on the concerns set out in our report,” she added.

The Modern Slavery Strategy was introduced in 2014 to reduce the prevalence of practices including human trafficking, forced labour, sexual exploitation and domestic servitude.

Anyone can report potential victims to the National Referral Mechanism for their cases to be assessed, but the system is inefficient and leaves slaves waiting for too long to receive help, the Public Accounts Committee said.

Care has been contracted out to the Salvation Army for £90m until 2020, but there are no minimum standards, formal inspections or deadlines for when a decision should be made, with the current average standing at 134 days.

The committee warned that prevention work was being damaged by slow progress understanding the crime, which is evolving quickly with changing techniques and nationalities involved.

MPs attacked the government’s “hands-off approach” to how businesses comply with laws on transparency in supply chains, which were introduced in 2015, saying monitoring was being left to charities, investors and customers themselves.

They said the approach was “clearly not working” because only an estimated 30 per cent of businesses required by law to publish a commitment on the issue have done so.

There are also extreme variations between the number of modern slaves being reported by the 43 police forces in England and Wales, varying between more than 900 and fewer than 10 since the National Referral Mechanism started in 2009.

MPs said the figures suggested some forces were not treating the issue as seriously as others, with only 6 per cent of related crimes recorded in the year to March 2017 leading to charges and dedicated funding running out in a year’s time.

The committee said the Home Office must work with groups including the National Crime Agency, Crown Prosecution Service and independent anti-slavery commissioner to urgently develop a set of practical steps tackling regional gaps.

It demanded “immediate action” to enforce rules on transparency in supply chains, potentially including publishing a list of firms who are not complying.

MPs called on the Home Office to ensure a reformed referral mechanism is in place by January next year, cut waiting times, bring in standards for victim care and a means of tracking the amount of public money spent.

The committee also said better understanding was needed to prevent modern slavery and work must take account of the potential impact of Brexit.

The Local Government Association said the National Referral Mechanism could not manage the number of cases, which has almost trebled since 2013, and backed calls for reforms.

The chair of its Safer and Stronger Communities Board, Simon Blackburn, said: “These reforms must be backed up with resources.

“Councils can play a key role in supporting trafficking victims, but we would like to see the government provide clarity over how local authorities are expected to respond and for these responsibilities to be properly funded.”

The Public Accounts Committee report came four months after a separate probe by the National Audit Office found the government’s bid to tackle modern slavery was ineffective, calling its strategy “unclear” and “inadequate”.

A previous warning came from HM Inspectorate of Constabulary in October, when the watchdog found police forces were failing to identify victims and leaving perpetrators free to continue to exploit them.

The UK is the first country in the world to have dedicated legislation in place to tackle modern slavery and there are more than 600 live modern slavery police operations underway.

A Home Office spokesperson said: “The Public Accounts Committee recognises that the UK is ahead of many countries in responding to modern slavery and the government’s Modern Slavery Taskforce will consider its recommendations carefully.

“We have recently announced reforms to the National Referral Mechanism to make sure it supports more victims at a quicker pace and we are taking action to eradicate modern slavery from the economy, including requiring large businesses to report on how they are tackling and preventing this crime in their supply chains.”

And last April, the Work and Pensions Committee found that “inexcusable” shortcomings in the UK’s modern slavery strategy were leaving victims reduced to destitution while their abusers escaped because they were not adequately supported to testify against them.