Slavery resources

Joint response to the announcement of reforms to the modern slavery framework 

With the announcement today that the new Immigration and Asylum Bill will include reforms to the modern slavery legislative framework, leading organisations and experts warn the government that it cannot end human trafficking and modern slavery without a safeguarding-first response to survivors that shifts the balance of risk decisively onto traffickers. 

While we welcome indications the Bill may include some positive improvements for the identification and support of child trafficking victims, we are concerned that there remains no meaningful commitment to a comprehensive child exploitation strategy. Furthermore, minimal and selective commitments on children must not be used to justify wider reforms that will deny survivors’ protection, embolden traffickers, and place more children at risk of exploitation and harm.

The ‘Decade of dignity’ report is a strategic roadmap to eradicate modern slavery in the UK by 2036. Produced by a coalition of the leading anti-slavery organisations including Anti-Slavery International, the report challenges the current ‘low risk, high reward’ environment that allows exploitation to flourish in plain sight. We move beyond fragmented responses to provide a unified, systemic vision built on four pillars: mandatory corporate accountability, a toughened criminal justice response, survivor-centred recovery, and a national strategy for child protection.

The ‘Decade of dignity’ is our collective commitment to dismantling the systems of exploitation and replacing them with a society where every individual is seen and every person is free.

Modern Slavery (MS) is a serious and growing issue. Local Authorities (LAs) play a key role in identifying and supporting survivors. However, many LAs face challenges in fully adopting their legal responsibilities as First Responders (FRs).  

Following the publication in May 2025 of research on LAs’ implementation of their First Responder responsibilities (see key findings below) and the development of a preliminary training framework, the Middlesex University research team, in partnership with the Anti-Trafficking Monitoring Group (ATMG), held further consultations with LAs, NGOs, and lived experience experts to strengthen and refine this framework. 

The finalised training framework, published in February 2026, sets out core guiding principles, a four-tier training structure (from awareness to leadership), and practical recommendations for implementation, designed as a flexible, adaptable structure, rather than a prescriptive curriculum to support councils in developing context-specific, survivor-centred training programmes.  

The study identified several barriers and areas for improvement: 

1. Limited awareness and training: Many LAs staff are unaware of their role as FRs. Training, where available, is often inconsistent and not tailored to local needs. Some staff assume that only the police can deal with MS cases. 

2. Fragmented responses: While some councils have strong MS policies, others lack clear processes for identifying and supporting survivors. This results in an inconsistent approach across different regions. 

3. Barriers to multi-agency working: Effective MS response requires collaboration between LAs, law enforcement, and community groups. However, miscommunication, lack of trust, and unclear responsibilities hinder joint efforts. 

4. Gaps in supply chain oversight: LAs have a legal duty to monitor their supply chains for potential exploitation, but reporting is inconsistent and many councils lack the resources to conduct thorough checks. 

5. Examples of good practice: Some LAs have developed strong partnerships with community organisations, invested in specialist MS teams, and introduced innovative training approaches. These examples highlight what is possible with the right strategies in place. 

This report was produced by Middlesex University in partnership with the  Anti-Trafficking Monitoring Group. 

Read the May 2025 research and executive summary here.

Anti-Slavery International, Friends of the Earth, Labour Behind the Label, Corporate Justice Coalition, Transform Trade, Freedom United and Ekō delivered our joint petition of over 145,000 signatures on behalf of over 40 civil society organisations and unions calling for the introduction of a Business, Human Rights and Environment Act.

The outdated Modern Slavery Act is entirely ineffective in driving corporate change to address modern slavery in UK supply chains. Section 17 of the Environment Act on due diligence for forest-risk commodities is weak, being narrowly
focused only on illegal deforestation and failing to meet international environmental standards. Without long overdue secondary legislation, Schedule 17 remains unenforceable.

We now urgently need a comprehensive due diligence law to prevent the UK becoming a dumping ground for goods made with human rights abuses and environmental harms, and a safe haven for companies unwilling to comply with stronger laws in other countries. The time to act is now.

Modern Slavery (MS) is a serious and growing issue in England and Wales and Local Authorities (LAs) play a key role in identifying and supporting survivors. However, many LAs face challenges in fully adopting their legal responsibilities as First Responders (FRs). This report explores these challenges and opportunities, focusing on improving training, awareness, and collaboration to strengthen the local response to MS.

The study identified several barriers and areas for improvement:

1. Limited awareness and training: Many LAs staff are unaware of their role as FRs. Training, where available, is often inconsistent and not tailored to local needs. Some staff assume that only the police can deal with MS cases.
2. Fragmented responses: While some councils have strong MS policies, others lack clear processes for identifying and supporting survivors. This results in an inconsistent approach across different regions.
3. Barriers to multi-agency working: Effective MS response requires collaboration between LAs, law enforcement, and community groups. However, miscommunication, lack of trust, and unclear responsibilities hinder joint efforts.
4. Gaps in supply chain oversight: LAs have a legal duty to monitor their supply chains for potential exploitation, but reporting is inconsistent and many councils lack the resources to conduct thorough checks.
5. Examples of good practice: Some LAs have developed strong partnerships with community organisations, invested in specialist MS teams, and introduced innovative training approaches. These examples highlight what is possible with the right strategies in place.

This report was produced by Middlesex University in partnership with the Anti-Trafficking Monitoring Group.

A letter on behalf of 33 organisations across the Modern Slavery sector, condemning the divisive and hostile rhetoric from the UK Government and expressing deep concern at the policy on immigration announced in the White Paper.

Recent changes in UK law have seen stricter decision-making on modern slavery survivors’ cases, potentially making it harder for victims to access identification and support. Crucially, where survivors have been wrongly rejected, there is now a much shorter timeframe for them to ask decision-makers to look at their case again. The reconsideration deadline is now set at 30 calendar days, leaving survivors and their advocates little time to get the paperwork, evidence, or even legal help needed to request a reconsideration. Survivors may not be informed of their right to ask for a reconsideration upon receiving a negative decision either because they may not be served the decision, may not receive it in a timely manner, or may not be accessing specialist support.

This fact sheet explores recent changes to the process for deciding modern slavery cases, the National Referral Mechanism (NRM), the reconsideration process, the human impact of poor decision-making, and what needs to change.

Authors

This fact sheet is written by Emily Vaughn and Maya Esslemont of After Exploitation, and Eleonora Fais on behalf of the Anti-Trafficking MonitoringGroup (ATMG).

Contributors

We are very grateful for the knowledge and frontline expertise shared by the following organisations who have contributed to this work:

ATMG members: Anti-Slavery International, Bawso, ECPAT UK, Flourish Northern Ireland, Focus onLabour Exploitation (FLEX), Helen Bamber Foundation, Hope for Justice, Just Right Scotland, Kalayaan, Scottish Refugee Council, Snowdrop Project, TARAservice and UNICEF UK.

Bindmans LLP, Causeway, City of Westminster, Duncan Lewis, Hammersmith & Fulham Council, Human Trafficking Foundation, Migrants Organise, Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, Southwell & Partners

Response to the Fourth Evaluation Round of the Questionnaire for the evaluation of the implementation of the Council of Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings

Excerpt from Executive Summary:
Since GRETA’s third evaluation round in 2020, the United Kingdom has regrettably taken many steps back in tackling vulnerabilities to trafficking and modern slavery.

Contributors to this joint submission have identified the UK Government’s focus on immigration enforcement and securitisation as the main barrier to developing a strong prevention response and the cause of the erosion of the identification and support mechanisms for survivors of modern slavery. Independent monitoring mechanisms, such as the Home Affairs Select Committee, have expressed deep concerns in relation to the UK Government’s de-prioritisation of human trafficking in favour of a focus on irregular migration. More recently, the Lords Select Committee published their report following their inquiry into the Modern Slavery Act 2015, which found that immigration legislation has limited the support which the Act originally afforded to survivors, leaving them vulnerable and without adequate protection from their traffickers.

Submission by:
After Exploitation, Anti-Trafficking Monitoring Group, Anti Trafficking and Labour Exploitation Unit (ATLEU), British Red Cross (BRC), Every Child Protected Against Trafficking UK (ECPAT UK), Focus on Labour Exploitation (FLEX), Hestia, Hope for Justice, Human Trafficking Foundation & Lived Experience Advisory Panel, International Organization for Migration, Country office for the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (IOM UK), Latin American, Women’s Rights Service (LAWRS), Taskforce on Survivors of Trafficking in Immigration Detention (Detention Taskforce), The Passage, The Salvation Army, The UK BME Anti-Slavery Network (BASNET), Unseen UK.

This briefing by The Anti-trafficking Monitoring Group (ATMG) and Hope at home “Safe Homes” analyses some of the obstacles and gaps in support potential and confirmed survivors of modern slavery in asylum accommodations face when evicted because of becoming eligible to apply for social housing.

This briefing aims to give an updated overview on the situation of non-statutory First Responders in their ability to refer potential survivors of modern slavery into the NRM in the 6 months between December 2023 and June 2024. The analysis has found an ongoing capacity issue affecting non-statutory First Responders, which are under considerable pressure. This is having detrimental consequences on survivors of trafficking and modern slavery, who are experiencing delays to access identification, support and protection.