Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner

Monday 6 February 2023 · 3 questions

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 0 Partly answered 1 Not answered 0

Key points

  • Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner's role is to encourage good practice in preventing, detecting, investigating, and prosecuting slavery and human trafficking offences.
  • The Home Secretary has committed to filling the Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner position but emphasizes the need for a proper appointment process.
  • Naseem Shah highlighted that over 4,500 potential victims of modern slavery were referred to the NRM in Q3 2022, with 43% being children.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Alistair Carmichael Lib Dem Orkney and Shetland
Employment Standards & Ethics
Context

The post of Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner has been vacant for 10 months. In the third quarter of last year, 4,586 potential victims were referred to the Home Office, marking a 38% increase from the previous year.

Question

When she plans to appoint an Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner given that the post has been vacant for 10 months and in Q3 of last year, no fewer than 4,586 potential victims of modern slavery were referred to the Home Office—38% up on the previous year.

Answer from Sarah Dines

The role of the Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner, as set out in the Modern Slavery Act 2015, is to encourage good practice in preventing, detecting, investigating and prosecuting slavery and human trafficking offences. The Home Secretary recognises the importance of this role and has committed to running a new competition to recruit for it; the process will begin imminently.

Partly answered

Not addressed: No specific timeline or date was provided for when the appointment would take place.

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Q2 Alistair Carmichael Lib Dem Orkney and Shetland
Parliamentary Procedure
Context

The post of Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner has been vacant for 10 months, with a significant increase in potential victims referred to the Home Office.

Question

I thank the Minister warmly for her answer. She illustrates perfectly the need for my private Member's Bill, which would allow Parliament to make this appointment instead of the Government. The post is already vacant for 10 months and 4,586 potential victims were referred in Q3 last year—up 38% from previous year. Why does their record on modern slavery issues make lack of scrutiny attractive?

Answer from Sarah Dines

I do not accept that narrative. The competition will open soon, there are many good candidates and we need a proper process; these things cannot be rushed.

Not addressed: The questioner's specific ask about why the government prefers lack of scrutiny was not addressed directly.

How: Changes Subject To Competition Details

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Q3 Naseem Shah Lab Bradford West
Asylum & Refugees Employment Safeguarding & DBS
Context

Over 4,500 potential victims of modern slavery were referred to the national referral mechanism in Q3 2022. Over 200 children seeking asylum have gone missing from Home Office hotels.

Question

In Q3 2022 over 4,500 potential victims of modern slavery were referred to the NRM—a record since its introduction—and 43% of them were children. Just last month, people learned that more than 200 children seeking asylum went missing from Home Office hotels. The Government ignored warnings about the Nationality and Borders Act making things worse. We have seen a failure to appoint a new anti-slavery commissioner and just one conviction for child trafficking last year. Does this show they are on top of this issue?

Answer from Sarah Dines

There is a big history with trafficking and dangerous gangs must be looked at. However, it is this government who have confidence to do something about it. There are issues other Members of House were reluctant to look at; important that ethnicity of each alleged criminal is noted.

Not addressed: The specific question about the one conviction and whether the government was addressing child trafficking effectively was not directly addressed.

How: Changes Subject To Discussing Confidence In Dealing With Issues

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