Select committee: Home Affairs Committee
Conclusion 93
First Report - Human trafficking
Published 8 Dec 2023
Paragraph 277
Addressed to Home Office
Home Affairs Committee Human Trafficking All items in this report Report on parliament.uk ↗ Inquiry on parliament.uk ↗
Conclusion (the committee's words)
The Government has been too slow to roll out Independent Child Trafficking Guardians (ICTG). We welcome Sarah Dine MP’s commitment to deliver national rollout of the service to cover all of England and Wales from April 2025, but it is unacceptable that after eight years in operation, only two-thirds of local authorities in England and Wales have ICTGs. Children in non-Independent Child Trafficking Guardians areas are not able to access the same support, which creates a postcode lottery.
From: Home Affairs Committee, First Report - Human trafficking (HC 124), paragraph 277, 8 December 2023
Government response
The government responded to the whole report on 22 February 2024 (deadline 8 February 2024).
Summary written by Accountability Index from the government's response. It is not the government's own words.The government says it remains "committed to tackling the crime of modern slavery" and responds to each recommendation, accepting some points and declining others with stated reasons.
- On strategy and reporting, the government says it "will resume publication of an Annual Report on Modern Slavery" this year and "will also consider delivering a new modern slavery strategy".
- It does not accept the recommendation on a statutory definition of child criminal exploitation, saying it does "not believe a statutory definition is required" to ensure victims are supported.
- On the 12 months' support commitment for confirmed victims, it concluded that the existing needs-based approach ensures support is available "for the necessary length of time, including if this is 12 months, or longer".
- On Independent Child Trafficking Guardians, it remains committed to national rollout, which is "still subject to approval of business cases and funding arrangements", and says it will publish evaluations of the ICTG programme and devolved decision-making pilot.