Patrick Burland

Modern slavery: National Referral Mechanism and Duty to Notify statistics UK, quarter 2 2025 - April to June

There were a record high 5,690 NRM referrals between April-June 2025.
The 1,772 reports in the quarter under the Duty to Notify of adults who did not consent to enter the NRM was the second highest.
11,645 people are waiting for a Conclusive Grounds decision.
www.gov.uk/government/s...

The call for evidence on the identification of victims of modern slavery has been published assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/687771...

Updates to section on Prioritisation of Conclusive Grounds cases in the MSA statutory guidance. assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/687656...

16 yr old & two 17 yr old boys from London arrested in Hertfordshire on suspicion of possession with intent to supply class A and B drugs. The DI said, "The violence and exploitation often associated with drug dealing causes untold harm to our communities and can take advantage of vulnerable people"

Some of the longest custodial sentences for modern slavery. www.cps.gov.uk/cps/news/six...

Suspected people smuggling gang taken down in nationwide strikes Seven members of a suspected organised crime group believed to have made millions have been arrested in West Yorkshire and Essex.

Smuggling???

"Individuals travelling to the UK illegally are sold a lie by smuggling gangs that they will be able to live and work freely in the UK, when in reality they often end up facing squalid living conditions, minimal pay and inhumane working hours." www.gov.uk/government/n...
Smuggling or trafficking?

London can't cope with the heat. Here's why Londoners are not imagining things when they complain of suffering more than most during heatwaves. The capital really does experience higher temperatures than many other areas of the country.

"This issue is getting worse due to climate change, which is making heatwaves both more frequent and more intense. And they will become more common and severe for at least the next 25 years until the world reaches net zero emissions of greenhouse gases."🙃 www.standard.co.uk/comment/lond...

Judge at Norwich Crown Court this week sentencing two cannabis gardeners to six months said it was a "sad and familiar story of young men becoming ensnared by sophisticated criminal gangs" who are "forced" to pay off their debt illegally.

NEW RESEARCH! Identifying child criminal exploitation in Northern Ireland.

Children in Northern Ireland exploited in criminal activities are not being formally identified as victims of modern slavery and human trafficking – despite indications they may meet the criteria.
🧵

It's like a day 1 case study on the Palermo Protocol in a training exercise on understanding the differences between terms like "human trafficking" and "smuggling"

Suspected people-smuggling gang arrested in nationwide crackdown Six people have been arrested on suspicion of facilitating illegal entry of hundreds of migrants in dawn strikes by Immigration Enforcement across the UK

"Officers acted on intelligence that suggested the lead people smuggler was exploiting the individuals he lured here under false pretences, forcing them to do unpaid work." www.gov.uk/government/n...
That sentence describes trafficking?
ACT (movement) + MEANS (deception) + PURPOSE (forced labour)

A Recorder at Crown Court sentencing a Vietnamese man to 6 months for cannabis production "you . . arrived in this country almost certainly illegally but alone and vulnerable. I have no doubt you were living rough, with no stable address and eventually you were exploited by those promising you work"

#CallForPapers: This issue will document existing & emerging aspects of domestic/care work & intimate #labour, their intersections with #gender & #migration, and the policies and practices that enable or prevent the exploitation of care workers. See antitraffickingreview.org/index.php/at...

'Surprise' halving of net migration offers Starmer an opportunity - British Future Voters will be surprised by the halving of net migration, offering PM Keir Starmer an opportunity to take a more pragmatic approach

Only 10% of the public expected a fall in net migration. www.britishfuture.org/surprise-hal...

Barriers to prosecutions and convictions under the Modern Slavery Act… We strive for a world where people are protected from modern slavery by effective, evidence-based policies.

The 25 year sentence was five times longer than the average custodial sentence for an offence under the Modern Slavery between July 2023-June 2024 www.modernslaverypec.org/resources/pr...

Judge Hiddleston said Ebid had “significant managerial role within an organised crime group” and his “primary motivation was to make money out of human trafficking”
CPS press release says he pled guilty for conspiracy to assist unlawful immigration to a member state.
www.cps.gov.uk/cps/news/peo...

Organisations have written about the successes and shortcomings in the 10 yrs since the Modern Slavery Act and what the UK government should do in the future but missed self-reflection about their own successes and shortcomings in the events of that decade.
I would buy a ticket for a BTS party.

Two jailed after 500-plant cannabis farm discovery Eljohn Majika and Klevis Kurti were jailed for 14 months each

Press release mentions "safeguarding victims" and exploitation by OCGs in the drug trade.
The Judge said the two men, "were probably paying off illegal traffickers who brought you into the UK" which
"reinforces my impression there was a degree of exploitation." www.sussex.police.uk/news/sussex/...

Serco looking for key partners for a bid for Modern Slavery Victim Care Contract (closed 31 March) www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/f61d7...

It may be necessary to dispel such misunderstandings in the report, given that the Modern Slavery and Organised Immigration Crime Unit replaced the Modern Slavery Police Transformation Unit.

HMICFRS report titled 'Improving the response to organised immigration crime' notes that "Organised immigration crime isn’t the same as modern slavery and human trafficking"
Recommendation 8 is about the Modern Slavery & Organised Immigration Crime unit.
s3-eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/assets-hmicf...

Annex: Reasons for accepting reconsideration requests

In Q1 2025 the IECA accepted 143 requests for reconsideration decision.
101 (70%) were accepted due to submission of additional evidence, 36 (25%) were accepted because of concerns the original decision was not make in line with statutory guidance
www.gov.uk/government/s...

Government provides certainty to horticulture and poultry businesses The Government has underlined its commitment to the horticultural and poultry sectors by confirming measures to provide stability, including the allocation for the Seasonal Worker visa route for 2025.

Immigration white paper says ending overseas recruitment for social care is to tackle exploitation & abuse of care workers.
The seasonal worker visa was extended in October. Migrant workers on that visa who are exploited and abused aren't counted in net migration stats www.gov.uk/government/n...

Restoring control over the immigration system: white paper The white paper sets out the government's plans to create an immigration system which promotes growth but is controlled and managed.

The UK government's immigration white paper has now been published: www.gov.uk/government/p...

Anti-slavery enforcers launch car wash checks A squad of anti-slavery enforcers visited London car washes in a major response to the Evening Standard’s special investigation into slavery.

This article about modern slavery mentions 12 hour days for £3hr in a car wash www.standard.co.uk/news/modern-...

Revealed: The illegal truth behind some of London's top restaurants Half-a-million-pound fines. Repeated raids. And a secret underground world propping up the capital’s most-hyped dining spots. Rachael Burford investigates

Exploitation is tempting?
"Undocumented labour offers a tempting way to cut costs. One worker arrested during the surprise enforcement visit at Royal China told officers he was doing 66 hours a week for just £6-an-hour." www.standard.co.uk/news/politic...

I've not heard much discussion about the number of negative conclusive grounds contributing to the reduction in the backlog of NRM decisions.

Modern slavery: National Referral Mechanism and Duty to Notify statistics UK, quarter 1 2025 - January to March

Q1 2025 saw the highest number of UK nationals referred to the NRM in a quarter since records began. www.gov.uk/government/s...

Our new issue is out today! It explores the roles, needs, and experiences of people in the immediate environment of #migrants and victims of #humantrafficking - their parents, children, siblings, and community 👉🏽 antitraffickingreview.org/index.php/at... As always, all articles are #OpenAccess