Ivan Lewis – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ivan Lewis on 2016-03-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps the Government is taking to reduce the level of human trafficking and exploitation in the UK.

Karen Bradley

The Government is taking significant steps forward in tackling the abhorrent crime of modern slavery. We passed the Modern Slavery Act in 2015 which gives law enforcement agencies the tools they need to tackle human trafficking and modern slavery, places a duty on large businesses to report on the actions they are taking to prevent modern slavery in their global supply chains and ensures that perpetrators can receive suitably severe sentences of up to life imprisonment.

We have also enhanced support and protection for those victims of this crime. We have extended the definition for those who are entitled to support under the government-funded victim care contract and we are piloting a new model of the National Referral Mechanism to ensure we have the right processes in place for identifying and supporting victims.