New record high for modern slavery referrals as they rise by a third in a year

The number of potential victims of modern slavery referred to the Home Office has hit another record high, having risen by more than a third in a year, new figures show.

There were 6,414 potential victims of modern slavery referred to the Home Office in the three months to September – an increase of 35% on the same period last year.

The figure was up by 13% on the three months to June this year, and is the highest for a single quarter since the national referral mechanism (NRM) began in 2009.

To access support and have recognition of their circumstances in the UK, victims of slavery and human trafficking have to be assessed under the NRM.

Earlier this year, the Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner criticised remarks by the Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood about potential misuse of modern slavery laws.

Ms Mahmood vowed to fight “to end vexatious, last-minute claims” against deportations, and said the use of modern slavery legislation to block removals made a “mockery of our laws”.

Her comments came after an Eritrean man made a bid to halt his removal from the UK under the “one in, one out” deal with France, claiming he was a victim of modern slavery.

His was the first legal challenge brought to the High Court against a migrant’s deportation under a deal agreed with the French government in July as part of efforts to deter the record number of arrivals by small boat crossings.

There has been no update given on his case to date.

Commissioner Eleanor Lyons said the Home Secretary’s words “have a real-life impact on victims of exploitation, who may now be more scared to come forward and talk about what’s happened to them”.

The Home Office has previously said it is reviewing the Modern Slavery Act to look at where it might currently be open to misuse.

Data published earlier this year showed a record high in referrals for the whole of 2024, when a total of 19,125 potential victims in the UK were referred to the Home Office.

Thursday’s figures are for the period July to September this year.

They show that Eritrean was the second most common nationality referred to the NRM for that quarter.

UK nationals accounted for a fifth of referrals (20% or 1,312), Eritrean made up 16% (1,044) and the third most common was Somali nationals, at 10% or 662 referrals.

The Home Office said this was the highest number of referrals for UK, Eritrean and Somali nationals in a quarter since the NRM began.

More than two thirds (68%) of final decisions made on someone’s referral found the person should be considered a victim of modern slavery.

Modern slavery can include human trafficking, slavery, servitude, or forced or compulsory labour.

Of the latest data, Ms Lyons said: “The Government must act to refocus efforts on preventing harm, supporting survivors of exploitation, and to greater emphasise the need to tackle the perpetrators of these horrendous crimes.

“Modern slavery will not end through identification alone, it requires stronger enforcement, greater disruption of trafficking networks and real consequences for those profiting from exploitation.”

The Home Office said average waiting times for someone’s referral into the system to receiving a final decision had dropped to 550 days, compared to 728 days in the previous quarter.

A Home Office spokesperson said: “Modern slavery is a global scourge that abuses and exploits people for profit.

“This Government said it would eliminate the enormous decision pile-up it inherited and that backlog is now 70% smaller than its peak in 2022 with people getting their decisions faster. These are real results for thousands of traumatised adult and child survivors, who need our support.

“However, there are also those who would seek to exploit our systems – which is why we announced decisive action to prevent people from misusing modern slavery laws to avoid deportation, and ensure our systems are fair, compassionate, and effective.”