Karen McVeigh
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| Anti-slavery protesters march in London as part of a coordinated international campaign staged by the A21 abolitionist group in October. Photograph: Stephen Chung/LNP/Rex/Shutterstock |
Prime minister pilloried over inability to translate ‘warm words’ into action as report questions clarity, scope and impact of Modern Slavery Act
MPs and rights groups have criticised Theresa May’s flagship strategy to tackle modern slavery, after a damning report by the public spending watchdog found it had failed victims.
A National Audit Office report said the Home Office had limited means of tracking the strategy’s progress, an “incomplete picture” of the crime, victims and perpetrators, and that prosecution rates last year remained “very low”.
The report warned: “Until the government is able to establish effective oversight of the modern slavery system as a whole, it will not be able to significantly reduce the prevalence of modern slavery or show that it is achieving value for money”.
Amyas Morse, head of the National Audit Office, said that while the strategy had helped to establish the scale and international nature of the issue, a stronger grasp of the problem was required. “To combat modern slavery successfully,” said Morse, “government will need to build much stronger information and understanding of perpetrators and victims than it has now.”
In 2016, there were 80 prosecutions under the Modern Slavery Act for 155 offences, the report found.
The government announced the modern slavery strategy three years ago, and the prime minister introduced the Modern Slavery Act in 2015 to combat slavery, servitude, forced labour and human trafficking, and to protect victims.
There are an estimated 10-13,000 potential victims in the UK, most frequently subjected to labour or sexual exploitation, or domestic servitude.
Diane Abbott, the shadow home secretary, described the Home Office as dysfunctional and said the NAO report painted a damning picture of the government’s strategy to end modern slavery.
She said: “It is clear that the government doesn’t have a true picture of the scale of the problem, or the perpetrators or the victims.
“The NAO also takes the Home Office to task for failing to get a grip on the effectiveness of its spending, or even how much money is spent overall. Overstretched police forces also have highly uneven responses to cases of modern slavery.
“Theresa May’s warm words about modern slavery are not enough. The government needs to take strong, coordinated action based on firm evidence.”
The NAO report said the Home Office does not know how much money is being spent, or whether services meet care quality standards. It called into question measures taken to support victims. Safe houses for potential victims are not subject to care quality inspections or standards, and there remains “much more to do” to ensure they are protected, said the authors.
Rights groups said the government’s lack of coherence meant victims were too afraid to come forward, as they could not be guaranteed support.
Kate Roberts, of the Human Trafficking Foundation, said: “It’s frustrating that the higher-level rhetoric is not filtering down to an adequate service that victims can trust. If you are trying to gain the confidence of a victim you need to tell them what they can expect from the system, not that they might get support and might not. It’s very difficult for advocates to get the victims’ trust.”
The NAO report highlighted shortcomings in the national referral mechanism (NRM), the framework for identifying victims of human trafficking or modern slavery and facilitating appropriate support. The authors found that delays in determining individual cases caused “distress and anxiety” to vulnerable people.
Professor Kevin Bales of the University of Nottingham, co-founder of Free the Slaves, said: “I don’t see this as a failing report card, I see it as a check-up.”
“Compared to virtually everyone else, the UK is ahead of the game. The difficulty for the government is not estimating the numbers but determining how you measure progress. It need a joined-up methodology, with built in evaluation and monitoring.”
In a separate development on Monday, MPs called on the government “to be brave enough” to stand up for modern slavery victims. A report by the work and pensions committee found “inexcusable failures” by the UK left victims destitute while their abusers go free.
Commenting on the government’s response to the report, Frank Field, the committee’s chairman, said it failed to measure up to the prime minister’s leadership on the issue.
“The government should be brave enough to stand up for the victims of modern slavery, people made so vulnerable by such evil behaviour,” he said.
The independent anti-slavery commissioner, Kevin Hyland, welcomed the report. He said significant progress had established the UK as a “world leader” in the fight against modern slavery, but that more needed to be done.
“The Home Office has begun to address a number of the issues raised, including plans to significantly improve support for victims by reforming the NRM,” said Hyland. “I look forward to the government intensifying action following the findings and recommendations of this report.”
Additional reporting by Rod Austin
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