In her speech to the House of Lords on Monday 22 July, the Rt Revd Vivienne Faull, Bishop of Bristol said:
My Lords, it is a pleasure to follow the noble Lords, Lord Howarth and Lord O'Neill. Today’s debate has demonstrated once again the vast array of expertise in this House, and it has been a privilege to listen.
Noble Lords may know that I hold the role of Lead Bishop for Modern Slavery on behalf of my colleagues on these benches, and it is here where I wish to focus my remarks today.
Modern slavery is a crime which affects every community in the UK. This is not a niche issue: it’s estimated that 130,000 people are held in modern slavery in our country, and so many of our day-to-day transactions rely on someone, somewhere, being exploited: a hand car wash, or a manicure, or even accessing social care. Today, we are debating employment policy. We must start this debate with a belief in the inherent dignity of work and the right of all workers to receive fair payment for their labour, free from exploitation.
I must applaud the work of many members of this House and the former government for their genuine commitment to tackling this terrible crime. The 2015 Modern Slavery Act was by no means a perfect piece of legislation, but it signalled real political intent. We have a world-leading National Referral Mechanism which supports thousands of victims every year. I am proud of the progress that the UK has made.
But while there has been much to applaud, there have been concerning developments as well. The Nationality and Borders Act, the Illegal Migration Act and most recently the Safety of Rwanda Act have all put victims of modern slavery at further risk. This is particularly true where migrant victims are imprisoned, often due to criminal exploitation, and can be subject to a Public Order Disqualification. I am glad to see that the Rwanda scheme has been scrapped, not least because it posed a very real risk of re-trafficking for victims. Could the noble Lord, the Minister, tell the House what the plans are for these various pieces of legislation as they affect migrant victims of modern slavery? If he cannot do so now, will he commit to do so in future?
I sincerely hope that the new Government plans to bring renewed vigour and dedication to our shared goal of ending modern slavery and human trafficking. I applaud the ambition to introduce a new offence for criminal exploitation of young people: the need for a clear definition of Child Criminal Exploitation is something which I and many of my friends on these benches have supported before in this House.
However, I am disappointed to see that modern slavery was not directly referenced at all in the King’s Speech. Nothing has been brought forwards on improving the rights of victims of modern slavery, and I have yet to see any proposals to improve the National Referral Mechanism.
The National Referral Mechanism wasn’t designed to cope with as many referrals as it currently receives. Potential victims wait much longer than the target 5-day waiting time for a reasonable grounds decision. At some points in 2023 the average wait was as high as 47 days. And, as I mentioned just a few months ago in this Chamber, women wait nearly twice as long as men for a conclusive grounds decision. Time spent in the NRM can be of benefit to survivors, but too long spent in the system can have a detrimental impact on recovery and rehabilitation. What plans does the new Government have to begin to tackle some of these issues with the NRM? The manifesto commits to a ‘justice system that puts victims first.’ I support this vision, but what about survivors of modern slavery who are not in the criminal justice system and whose perpetrators are never discovered or charged? What specific commitments can the noble Lord the minister make to support survivors, whether they are in the National Referral Mechanism or the criminal justice system?
To tackle modern slavery for the long-term, however, we will need more than just survivor support. Perpetrators of this crime must be brought to account. I welcome legislation to create a Single Enforcement Body for employment rights, which I hope will contribute to an uptick in convictions for trafficking. In 2022, just 282 traffickers were convicted in England and Wales – but in the same year there were nearly 17,000 referrals to the NRM. Conviction rates are woefully low, and I hope that simplifying enforcement will help to reverse this trend. As legislation for a Single Enforcement Body is drafted, will the noble Lord the Minister and his team give due consideration to how to make this an accessible tool for victims and survivors? Victims often do not report due to fear that they themselves will be criminalised, particularly in cases where they have insecure immigration status. It is high time that a firewall was established to prevent the sharing of migrant victims’ data with immigration enforcement, and I hope that the Government will use the opportunity of upcoming legislation to introduce this measure.
Several noble Lords have mentioned shortages of labour in certain sectors. Nowhere is this more acute than in our social care sector, to which we entrust the lives and wellbeing of some of the most vulnerable members of our society. Last year, nearly 1 in 10 roles in adult social care stood vacant. There is clearly an acute need for a clear strategy to fill vacancies and deal with issues of recruitment and retention in the workforce.
However, it is obviously unacceptable that gaps in the social care sector have led to a rise in labour exploitation. We’ve recently seen reports that modern slavery is surging in this sector, with nearly one in five potential victims calling the modern slavery helpline working in social care. Restricted, temporary work visas are creating the conditions for labour exploitation, especially as anyone on a Health and Care or Skilled Worker visa has just 60 days to obtain a new visa, during which time they have no access to public funds. To tackle exploitation, we should start by making work visas open and flexible, so that workers are not trapped in exploitative conditions.
Work can give dignity and purpose to people’s lives. Our policymaking should seek to create a UK where all workers are valued, properly paid, and in decent conditions. I applaud the new government’s ambitions to strengthen workers’ rights, but I will continue to ask what the plans announced in the King’s Speech last week can offer to victims of exploitation, and how they will contribute to finally ending the abhorrent practice of modern slavery.