Slavery

Home Department written question – answered at on 1 September 2014.

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Photo of Graham Evans Graham Evans Conservative, Weaver Vale

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department

(1) what provisions are being made by her Department in conjunction with the NSPCC to ensure that calls from (a) professionals, (b) volunteers, (c) members of the public and (d) victims of modern slavery and human trafficking to the modern slavery helpline can be dealt with effectively; and when the modern slavery helpline will go live;

(2) what discussions she has had with the NSPCC about its current and future plans to train staff to run her planned modern slavery helpline; what that training will include; what the estimated cost is of such training; and which body will provide the training;

(3) to whom the NSPCC will refer cases of people (a) from EU countries and (b) who are not EU nationals, who call her planned modern slavery helpline and are identified as victims of modern slavery;

(4) what consultation she undertook with (a) non-governmental organisations, (b) civil society, (c) church organisations, (d) front-line professionals, (e) social workers and (f) local authority and Health Service staff on the creation of a modern slavery helpline prior to her announcement that such a helpline was being set up;

(5) what expertise the NSPCC has in dealing with victims of slavery; and what criteria were set by her Department for the securing of the contract to run the modern slavery helpline.

Photo of Karen Bradley Karen Bradley The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department

holding answer 22 July 2014

We are working closely with the NSPCC to pilot a Modern Slavery Helpline as part of a wider communications and marketing campaign, to raise awareness of modern slavery. The helpline will be established by the end of July 2014. We are working with a number of non-governmental organisations and law enforcement agencies to ensure that all callers to the helpline can access any additional help, advice and support they need.

Training will be provided to all call handlers working on the helpline, which will be delivered by the NSPCC Child Trafficking Advice Centre and the Metropolitan Police Service, building on their specific expertise and knowledge in this area. The training will include the nature of modern slavery, the information to be obtained from individuals who call the helpline as well as organisations that can provide further support and guidance. There are no specific costs to the Home Office associated with providing this training.

Each call to the helpline will be considered on a case-by-case basis and, where an individual requires further information or advice, the helpline call handlers will provide the details of other organisations for the caller to contact, as appropriate. This is regardless of whether the caller is from an EU or non-EU country.

Stakeholders, including NGOs, have been engaged in the communications and marketing campaign which underpins the helpline.

The NSPCC is ideally placed to deliver what we need given their existing infrastructure and expertise in safeguarding issues. The NSPCC runs a number of helplines, including Childline, FGM helpline and the Child Trafficking Advice Centre (CTAC) line. We have engaged NSPCC by means of a formal Grant Agreement, not a Contract, which will be managed using standard Home Office grant terms and conditions in accordance with the principles of Managing Public Money.

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