Surge In Suspected Modern Slavery Victims Waiting Years For Home Office Decisions

The number of suspected modern slavery victims left waiting over two years for a Home Office decision on their case has surged by more than half in just three months, fuelling concerns that a delay-ridden system is pushing people back into exploitation.

 New data obtained through freedom of information laws show 4,991 people had been waiting for more than six months for a decision from the National referral Mechanism (NRM) – the UK’s framework for identifying modern slavery victims – in September 2019, compared with 4,027 just three months before in June.

 A total of 605 people had been waiting more than two years in the latest figures, compared with 397 in June 2019 – a rise of 52 per cent.

 The National Referral Mechanism (NRM) is designed to identify modern slavery victims and offer them a 45-day period to recover while the Home Office investigates their case. A decision on whether their claim is genuine should be made “as soon as possible” after this period.

 The status of their immigration and whether or not the claimant could face criminal charges are two of the potential consequences dependent on the outcome of the decision.

 Read more: May Bulman, Independent, https://is.gd/WfssED