Deidre Brock: ...physical and sexual violence, persecution, torture, human rights abuses and extreme poverty. Their perilous journeys to the UK have exposed them to exploitation, human trafficking and modern slavery. Two years ago, when the Home Office started to house unaccompanied asylum-seeking children in hotels, we were told that it was on a short-term, emergency basis until permanent placements could...
Lord Coaker: ...the noble and learned Lord, Lord Etherton, say—there are countries listed in Schedule 1 where it cannot in any sense be confirmed that an asylum seeker who is gay will be safe. Victims of modern slavery and trafficking will potentially be returned. Fundamentally, Clauses 5 and 6 and Schedule 1 mean that there is no case-by-case assessment of the individual rights of an asylum claim, and...
Patrick Grady: ...wanting to seek refuge elsewhere? And yes, they include thousands of people who have arrived here on small boats in recent of years, hundreds of whom have been referred for assessment under modern slavery legislation. But the Government want to make those people—men, women and children who are fleeing the oppression that we have heard about repeatedly in today’s debate and who are...
Sarah Dines: The Home Office publishes statistics of potential victims of modern slavery referred to the National Referral Mechanism (NRM). The data shows the number of potential victims referred into the National Referral Mechanism (NRM) where exploitation occurred when they were a child It also shows the number of referrals received which are linked to County Lines. National Referral Mechanism...
Edward Argar: Since September 2022, when we completed the rollout of pre-recorded cross-examination (Section 28) for victims of sexual and modern slavery offences in all Crown Courts in England and Wales, we have completed a process evaluation of the provision. The process evaluation, published on gov.uk on 3 April 2023, explored if the section 28 provision was working as intended and if any improvements...
Jenny Rathbone: I want to know how you will safeguard those who are withdrawn from school in order to be exploited, because modern slavery is something that's on the rise, and I know people like Joyce are concerned about that, and we can't assume that it will exclude children. So how will we ensure that somebody isn't being withdrawn from school for the wrong reasons, as opposed to the particular needs that...
Lord Paddick: ...diversity. The noble Lord, Lord Carlile of Berriew, introduced amendments aimed at that. The amendment in the name of the noble Lord, Lord Alton, would ensure that victims of trafficking and modern slavery are not removed to a country where they would not be safe. As both my noble friends said, when you contrast the list of countries in Schedule 1 with the Government’s advice to...
Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: ..., although I was profoundly depressed by the Minister’s response. I will make three points. First, the noble and learned Baroness, Lady Butler-Sloss, is right that we were so proud of the Modern Slavery Act and the credibility that it gave to our country. This Bill undermines it fatally in so many ways. Secondly, the noble Lords, Lord Purvis and Lord Scriven, are also surely right. The...
Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle: ...economy has thrust so many people into already: into the illegal car washes or into the illegal marijuana farms, where recently we saw four Vietnamese men, almost certainly victims of modern slavery, die in horrific conditions. Thrust into the gig economy—there has recently been coverage about this—you can rent an identity to be a delivery driver for a night, all under the carpet and...
Suella Braverman: ...the Government continue to prioritise the return of individuals with no right to remain in the United Kingdom. We established through the Nationality and Borders Act a disqualification from modern slavery protection for individuals who meet specific criteria, including foreign national offenders with custodial sentences of 12 months or more and individuals convicted of terrorism offences....
Lord Alton of Liverpool: My Lords, surely this is not just about statutory requirements. Will the noble Lord contrast this with the way in which the right honourable Theresa May presented to Parliament the modern slavery legislation? That was dealt with by pre-legislative scrutiny, by consensus being developed across the political parties in another place, and by getting bicameral as well as bipartisan agreement...
Lord McColl of Dulwich: To ask His Majesty's Government how many duty-to-notify notices were received for potential victims of modern slavery between 7 March and 30 April this year compared to the same period in 2022.
Lord Morrow: ...ask His Majesty's Government, in each of the past five years, how many decision makers there have been in the competent authorities making conclusive grounds decisions identifying victims of modern slavery.
Lord Alton of Liverpool: ...report from the US Department of State, which concluded that the government of China continued to place ethnic Tibetans in vocational training and manufacturing jobs with elements of modern day slavery, throughout 2022.
...those offences (as per the Serious Crime Act 2007) counts as priority illegal content. 136B: Schedule 7, page 204, line 32, at end insert—“22A_ An offence under section 2 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 (human trafficking).22B_ An offence under section 1 of the Human Trafficking and Exploitation (Scotland) Act 2015 (asp 12) (human trafficking).22C_ An offence under section 2 of the...
Nigel Huddleston: The United Kingdom is one of the leading countries confronting the scourge of modern-day slavery, including forced labour. The UK is committed to working in partnership with producing countries to achieve sustainability in our supply chains, including for products such as palm oil, and supporting better outcomes for nature, climate, and people. The Modern Slavery Act requires businesses with...
Alex Sobel: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent assessment her Department has made of the potential effectiveness of the Modern Slavery Victim Care Contract and its support for victims of modern slavery.
Alex Sobel: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department has held recent discussions with the providers of the modern slavery victim care contract on the re-procurement process for that contract.
Lord McColl of Dulwich: To ask His Majesty's Government, how many people have been (1) prosecuted, and (2) convicted, for offences of human trafficking in the Modern Slavery Act 2015, for each of the past five years.
Drew Hendry: Nearly 200 civil society organisations covering human trafficking, modern slavery, asylum and refugees have called on the Government to immediately withdraw the Illegal Migration Bill because, as it stands, it will breach multiple conventions and agreements in international law. Will the Attorney General work with her colleagues to revise, review and change these provisions, or is she happy...
