How well does the National Referral Mechanism identify and support both adults and child victims of human trafficking? – Home Affairs Committee evidence session
The Home Affairs Committee continues its inquiry into human trafficking on Wednesday 21 June with a session examining the National Referral Mechanism considering how adult and child victims of modern slavery and trafficking are identified and supported, and whether the NRM is an appropriate mechanism for identifying child victims
Meeting details
The National Referral Mechanism (NRM) is the system for identifying and supporting potential victims of modern slavery. It is intended to be a gateway to services including legal advice, safe house accommodation and other forms of support. Adults given a positive reasonable grounds decision can have access to support if they need it. Support for child victims of modern slavery and trafficking, except for the Independent Child Trafficking Guardians service and Scottish Guardianship Service, is provided by local authorities and partner agencies under existing statutory obligations. Potential victims of modern slavery can only be referred to the NRM by First Responder Organisations, which includes charities and government bodies. There is a statutory duty on public authorities to refer suspected victims to the NRM in England and Wales. In 2022, there were 16,938 referrals to the NRM.
In this session the Home Affairs Committee will examine how effective the National Referral Mechanism is in identifying and supporting potential victims for both adults and children. It will investigate the benefits and risks of the current system of two separate authorities making decisions on NRM referrals, and examine concerns about the time taken for cases to be concluded. The session will also examine what implications the Nationality and Borders Act, and the Illegal Migration Bill may have on identifying and supporting victims.