In 2019, 10,627 potential victims were identified meaning they were provided with specialist support

This article is more than 5 months old

This article is more than 5 months old

The number of potential modern slavery victims identified in the UK has risen by 52% in a year to a record high, official figures have revealed.

In 2019, 10,627 potential victims of modern slavery were referred to the National Referral Mechanism (NRM), the official system through which victims of modern slavery are identified and provided with support. This was up from 6,986 in 2018.

Of these, officials decided there were “reasonable grounds” to believe 8,429 were victims of modern slavery, meaning they were provided with at least 45 days of specialist support including in some cases accommodation. Just over 1,000 of the referrals were determined not to be cases of modern slavery.

UK police record 51% rise in modern slavery offences in a year Read more

But all 8,429 who received a “reasonable grounds” decision are awaiting a “conclusive grounds” decision, the next stage in the process. This means around 80% of 2019 referrals are awaiting a conclusive decision, compared to just 38% of referrals for 2018 as of 10 February 2020.

Modern slavery includes human trafficking, slavery, servitude or forced labour.

A Home Office spokesperson said: “Growing awareness of modern slavery and better training for first responders has improved the way this abuse is tackled and led to more referrals of potential victims.”

The Home Office data shows that just over half of referrals were for individuals who claimed they had been exploited as adults.

Of the potential victims referred in 2019, two-thirds claimed that the exploitation occurred in the UK only.

The most common type of exploitation in 2019 for both adults and minors was labour exploitation.

However, in the final quarter, officials started splitting a new category of “criminal exploitation” from labour exploitation.

The change revealed the majority of potential child victims of modern slavery were for criminal exploitation and this was being driven by an increase in the identification of county lines cases, the Home Office said. County lines is used to describe drug gangs in large cities expanding their reach to small towns.

Law enforcement in the UK is utilising modern slavery legislation against county lines offenders; alongside charges for drugs offences, gang members are increasingly facing human trafficking charges.

The three most common nationalities of potential victims referred to the NRM were UK, Albanian and Vietnamese.

The UK last week became the first country to publish a government modern slavery statement, which sets out how the UK government is tackling the crime in its own supply chains.

Thousands of businesses are currently required to publish annual modern slavery statements under the Modern Slavery Act.

The UK government published its own statement, which assessed the risk of modern slavery across around £50bn of its annual spending. Individual ministerial departments will publish their modern slavery statements from 2020-21.