Source · Select Committees · Human Rights (Joint Committee)
Recommendation 105
105
Rejected
It also mandates that, unless there are ‘compelling circumstances’, non- British victims would be disqualified...
Conclusion
It also mandates that, unless there are ‘compelling circumstances’, non- British victims would be disqualified from protection if they have been sentenced to a period of imprisonment of any length. They will be denied a recovery and reflection period and denied limited leave to remain in the UK, and may therefore be removed from the UK. This significantly broadens the list of circumstances in which a victim of modern slavery would be treated as a threat to public order to include cases where the person has been sentenced to imprisonment regardless of the seriousness of their offence or the length of imprisonment. It would therefore exclude from protection victims compelled to commit criminal offences by their traffickers who are prosecuted and convicted due to their lack of knowledge of the availability of the defence from section 45 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015, as well as those victims convicted for immigration related offences. The previous Committee concluded that these provisions run counter to the UK’s obligations under ECAT and Article 4 ECHR.140
Government Response Summary
The government defends the retention of Section 29 of the IMA 2023, which broadens disqualification from modern slavery protections for foreign national offenders, stating it is compliant with international obligations and necessary, thereby rejecting the committee's concerns.
Government Response
Rejected
HM Government
Rejected
As noted above, the Government is committed to ensuring an effective immigration and asylum system and has retained certain measures of the IMA 2023 where they have been assessed as beneficial to that aim. The Bill repeals the vast majority of modern slavery provisions in the IMA 2023, including those linked to the ‘duty to remove’. The sole modern slavery measure being retained (section 29) would, if commenced, bring all foreign national offenders into scope for mandatory consideration of disqualification from modern slavery protections on public order grounds. This process for disqualification, the Public Order Disqualification (POD), exists already under section 63 of the Nationality and Borders Act 2022 (NABA 2022), as noted by the Committee’s report. Section 63 enables victims or potential victims of modern slavery to be disqualified from the protections against removal, modern slavery specific assistance and support, and any requirement to grant limited leave to remain under section 65 of NABA 2022 if they are a threat to public order or have claimed in bad faith. The changes to section 63 that would be made by section 29 of the Illegal Migration Act 2023 would create a duty on competent authorities to apply the POD to foreign national offenders, unless the competent authority considers there are compelling circumstances that mean the POD should not apply to the person. Foreign national offenders with prison sentences of any length would be considered a threat to public order, and would be eligible for disqualification from the protections and support of the National Referral Mechanism (NRM). Cases would continue to be determined on a case-by-case basis. While section 29 has not yet been commenced, it is appropriate to retain it at this stage, so that it can be considered alongside the Government’s wider plans for modern slavery reform. The Council of Europe Convention against Trafficking of Human Beings (Article 13) allows for withholding of support on the grounds that an individual poses a risk to public order or where it is found that victim status is being claimed improperly. The POD is therefore compliant. The changes that section 29 of the IMA 2023 would, if commenced, make to section 63 of the NABA 2022 are also entirely consistent with Article 4 of the ECHR (Prohibition of slavery and forced labour).