Source · Select Committees · Home Affairs Committee
Recommendation 81
81
Deferred
Paragraph: 240
Inform victims of rights before National Referral Mechanism entry and guarantee free legal aid.
Conclusion
Victims should be properly informed of their rights and options before entering the National Referral Mechanism, and access to free legal aid should be guaranteed.
Government response summary AI-generated
The government did not address the recommendation about properly informing victims of their rights and guaranteeing access to free legal aid. Instead, it discussed publishing NRM referral data and the difficulty of evidencing system misuse.
Summary of the government's response below — read the verbatim text to verify.
Paragraph Reference:
240
Government Response
Deferred
HM Government · verbatim extract
Deferred
The Government is committed to ensuring victims are enabled and empowered to engage with the Criminal Justice System. All potential victims of modern slavery with a positive Reasonable or Conclusive Grounds decision have access to legal aid, including criminal and civil legal aid, legal aid for immigration advice, advice on an asylum claim, employment law advice and for a civil claim of damages. As part of measures in the Nationality and Borders Act, as per Immigration Rules Appendix: Temporary Permission to Stay as a Victims of Human Trafficking or Slavery, legal aid will be granted to individuals who are co- operating with police investigations and/or pursuing compensation claims against their traffickers. Upon entering Modern Slavery Victim Care Contract support, support workers ensure that all adult potential and confirmed victims of modern slavery are provided with information on their rights and the services available to them in a language they understand, including how to access legal aid, legal representatives, and legal advice. Equivalent support is provided in detention settings. For child potential victims, local authorities, alongside the ICTG service where it is present, may obtain legal advice or instruct a legal representative to act on the child’s behalf where its considered necessary and appropriate to do so. This advice or representation may relate to the support and care needs of the child, any immigration or criminal proceedings the child is involved in, or circumstances which may be considered to have a detrimental impact on the child.
Read the full response on Parliament ↗