My Lords, I refer to my interests in the register as a trustee of the Arise Foundation, a charity that works for victims of modern slavery and against human trafficking. It is a great pleasure to follow the noble Lord, Lord Coaker, and to endorse everything he said about this group of amendments. As he said, in my name are Amendments 67 and 68, and I have signed Amendment 70, in the name of the noble Lord, Lord McColl. I should say at the outset that my noble friend Lady Prashar is unwell, and we all wish her a speedy recovery to her usual place. I thank the right reverend Prelate the Bishop of St Albans for also being a signatory to these amendments.
Before I turn specifically to the amendments, I endorse what the noble Lord, Lord Coaker, said in congratulating the noble Baroness, Lady Williams, on
her elevation to the Privy Council; the whole House would agree with him. Also, what an extraordinary backdrop to today’s debate and to this Bill it was for us all to have been privileged to sit in the Gallery and listen to President Zelensky. The UNHCR suggests that as many as 3 million people will be displaced and become refugees, joining the 82 million people who are displaced or are refugees worldwide at this time. What a backdrop to our consideration of how we can deal with people in a civilised and humane way, but also our consideration of the fundamental and root causes of this massive displacement of people, which we so regularly fail to address.
The points made so well by the noble Lord, Lord Coaker, about the national referral mechanism and the way we treat children are especially close to my heart. Without wishing to repeat either the points I made in Committee or anything said by the noble Lord, I will try to summarise the arguments relatively briefly.
The NRM is a vital mechanism for the recovery and safety of survivors of modern slavery. Since its introduction, with the work of successive Governments, including the introduction of the vitally important Modern Slavery Act by a past Conservative Government, as we have heard—described by the noble Lord as “flagship” policy—the UK has become a global leader in countering the evils of trafficking and modern slavery. It will be a lasting legacy to the right honourable Theresa May, who pioneered this when she was Home Secretary, with support from all quarters: it was bipartisan and bicameral legislation.
Many of us sitting on these Benches participated in those proceedings and helped to improve that legislation, which was not driven through in a pell-mell rush but given proper consideration with pre-legislative scrutiny at every stage. People were engaged and involved in these sensitive and complex issues. That contrasts somewhat with the speed with which we are driving forward quite a lot of legislation at the moment. It reminds me of the old saying: legislate at speed and repent at leisure. I feel that we may well end up doing that.
The NRM, like so many things, is not perfect, but I, along with many across the House, I am sure, would draw parallels between the NRM and the succour it offers to vulnerable people and the campaigns in another age, of people such as William Wilberforce. Both are drawn from a strength of will and compassion that makes our country unique, and we should not squander that. Although I do not believe that any of us here today would wish to diminish the achievements of all those who sat here in both Houses and strived to support some of the most vulnerable, we have to look at the practical application of what it is that we are being invited to do. Clause 59 will do that—it will diminish what we have set our hands to. With this clause, we would close the door for many to the safety of the NRM. The clause will, in effect, raise the bar that these people must meet to obtain a positive reasonable grounds decision and the safety and support of the national referral mechanism, leaving them with a stark choice between returning to their chains or etching out some half-existence.
6 pm
The House may ask why this is being debated at all. The Government believe that the NRM is being taken advantage of and that the threshold needs to be strengthened to prevent this. I am sure we will hear that argument from the Front Bench again, and the claim that the rise in the number of individuals—the noble Lord, Lord Coaker, referred to this earlier—some of whom are in detention or on remand, entering the NRM is a sure sign of an issue, and that the only explanation must be that criminals are somehow exploiting the national referral mechanism to prevent their deportation.
I asked the Minister when I last spoke here on this matter, in Committee, to share the Government’s evidence with this House. I must say I have seen very little to support their argument. To argue, as they do, that the reason for an increase in referrals to the NRM must be a discrepancy reflects a leap of logic that is terrifying given the impact it would have on so many already traumatised individuals. While by the Government’s own statistics there has been a rise of about 11% in the prevalence of NRM referrals for people detained for immigration offences, like the noble Lord, I deplore the fact that we have lumped together in the same Bill immigration issues and these much more sensitive questions around human trafficking and modern slavery. There does not seem to be a clear correlation with criminality to me.
Indeed, the Government themselves, in their 2019 annual report, highlighted key communication campaigns to raise awareness of slavery and support referrals, as well as their progress
“to simplify and speed up referrals of potential victims of modern slavery for government support”.
Could these points raised in the annual report be reasons for the 11% rise, rather than a mark of rising abuse of the system? The evidence for this seems to increase when you consider that the vast majority of those who get a positive reasonable grounds decision go on to receive a positive conclusive grounds decision.
In their new plan for immigration, the Government made it clear that they believe that the threshold for a reasonable grounds decision is too low, but we are yet to see the evidence of this. Only this morning, the Salvation Army, which has been a principal adviser to the Government on these questions—as referred to by the noble Lord, Lord Coaker—said to me that, according to the most recent set of NRM statistics published by the Home Office, in the last quarter of 2021 89% of reasonable grounds decisions and 94% of conclusive grounds decisions were positive. This begs the question, once again, of why the Government feel the need to change the threshold. Their own data makes it overwhelmingly clear that concerns around individuals abusing the system are absolutely unfounded.
Many of those on the ground supporting vulnerable people every day, such as the Salvation Army, believe it is already harder today to get a positive decision than it was even a year ago. Moreover, many were already concerned that the NRM underrepresented the true number of victims, even without the threshold being raised. Increasing the threshold further would place too high an evidence burden on victims prior to them receiving specialist advice and support. This will
block victims from accessing trafficking support. This will include child victims, as we have heard, and those who were children at the time of being exploited. This should not be undertaken unless we can prove beyond doubt that there has been a rise in criminality linked to false referrals to the NRM. Without that certainty, we risk only harming some of the most vulnerable in our society and reneging on our responsibility to support all who suffer.
Sadly, it seems clear to me that the Government’s case is informed by neither the evidence nor the experience of people who the NRM is designed to save. The UK has committed itself to fighting the exploitative practices of slavery where it has influence. Essential to this commitment is the notion that all who suffer under the hands of traffickers and slavers are entitled to safety and support. That is why I have laid Amendments 67 and 68 before your Lordships’ House.
To avoid a Division this evening, I simply ask for a commitment from the Government to engage and consult with the anti-trafficking sector in the coming months on the statutory guidance linked to this Bill. If the Government are prepared to do that, that would go at least some way to meeting some of the arguments I have advanced.
My name is also on the amendment to be moved later by the noble Lord, Lord McColl. It’s proposal is the right thing to do and it makes policy sense; I spelled out my reasons in Committee. Let me just remind the House what the anti-slavery commissioner has said:
“There is a powerful moral argument for granting leave for those whom the state has concluded are victims of trafficking or slavery but there is also a practical one. Without such leave survivors, who are not claiming asylum or who have not been granted EU settled status, are not entitled to accommodation and have limited access to benefits—they will either be unable to leave safe houses or left destitute on the streets.”
We can put victims on the road to recovery with Amendment 70, and I shall be supporting the noble Lord if he decides to divide the House on that matter.
In saying those words, I commend to the House Amendments 67 and 68.