Martyn Day – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Martyn Day on 2016-10-07.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what support her Department offers to victims of labour exploitation; and what steps her Department is taking against individuals and businesses involved in such exploitation.
Sarah Newton
The Home Office sponsors the National Referral Mechanism to provide support to victims of modern slavery offences, whilst support for workers who have experienced exploitative treatment from employers and employment agencies is available from other enforcement authorities across Government, including the HMRC national minimum wage team, the BEIS Employment Agency Standards’ Inspectorate and the Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority. All potential adult victims of Modern Slavery, including those who suffer labour exploitation, are able to access a tailored and specialised package of care and support through the £40m government-funded Salvation Army victim care contract.
The Modern Slavery Act 2015 consolidated and strengthened modern slavery offences and introduced a world-leading provision which requires all commercial organisations operating in the UK with a turnover above £36m to set out what steps they are taking to prevent modern slavery in their business and supply chains. This transparency will drive improvements in tackling modern slavery throughout the business community.
The Immigration Act 2016 established the Director of Labour Market Enforcement to provide closer integration between the authorities responsible for enforcing labour market protections and a stronger intelligence capability, reformed the Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority with new powers to investigate labour market offences wherever they occur in the economy, and stronger sanctions for non-compliant businesses. The Immigration Act 2016 also includes new powers to tackle employers of migrants working illegally on the UK.
