Paul Blomfield – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Blomfield on 2016-03-21.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many (a) enforcement actions have been undertaken by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) involving victims of modern slavery and (b) victims of modern slavery HMRC recovered national minimum wage arrears for in each of the last five years; and how much in national minimum wage arrears HMRC has recovered for victims of modern slavery in that period.

Mr David Gauke

HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has developed a specific training package targeting Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking which is mandatory for all visiting officers. This training advises officers on the indicators to look for and the responses to take where exploitation is suspected.

HMRC participates in multi-agency investigations into cases of Modern Slavery where there are potential tax or National Minimum Wage (NMW) offences. Since February 2015, HMRC has opened 73 tax investigations in cases where Modern Slavery is suspected. HMRC does not collate specific data on any NMW arrears identified in cases involving Modern Slavery.