Recently a number of constituents have emailed me
to share with me their concerns about the Modern Slavery Act and its support
provisions for trafficked children.
The Government has assured MPs that it is committed
to tackling every form of modern slavery, including child trafficking. The
Government has secured commitment from other governments and institutions,
including the UN, the Commonwealth and the EU, to tackle modern slavery, and
has successfully lobbied for the establishment of the first ever UN Sustainable
Development Goal to end modern slavery. It is also working bilaterally with
priority countries to deepen law enforcement cooperation.
The Prime Minister has announced a new taskforce to
accelerate progress on tackling human trafficking and modern slavery. At the
same time £33.5 million of development assistance funding was also pledged to
tackle slavery in countries from where we know victims are regularly trafficked
to the UK.
In July 2018 the Home Office announced a review of
the Modern Slavery Act which will incorporate the section on Independent Child
Trafficking Advocates (ICTAs). This review will be published in spring 2019 and
will inform the adoption of any additional methods to protect and support
trafficked children.
A Home Office spokesperson has said that following
this review the department will be looking to introduce “expert ICTA regional
co-ordinators” to work with professionals already providing support for victims
who have a figure of parental responsibility. They also said that: “This
revised model has been developed in close collaboration with Barnardo’s. We
continue to gather the views of trafficked children themselves, ICTAs and a
range of other stakeholders as we develop the service.”
As this is an important matter for many of my
constituents, I will be monitoring the progress of this independent review
closely. In addition, I will be seeking to speak about this issue in Parliament
and engage with Home Office ministers directly to seek an update on the review
when the opportunity arises.
