Faster support for child exploitation victims in expanded pilot
Eight new areas from across the UK are to join the pilot scheme which transfers decision-making under the National Referral Mechanism to local safeguarding teams.
Details
The National Referral Mechanism (NRM) is the UK’s framework for identifying victims of modern slavery and human trafficking. Since the NRM’s inception in 2009, numbers of child referrals have increased, with the highest number of referrals ever received in the most recently reported quarter, July to September 2022.
The Single Competent Authority (SCA) in the Home Office considers cases of potential victims referred to the NRM by First Responder Organisations and operates a two-stage decision making process to determine whether an individual is a victim of modern slavery.
In England and Wales, local safeguarding partners – local authorities, police and clinical commissioning groups – have a duty to work together to safeguard and promote the welfare of children including child victims of modern slavery. Given that local safeguarding partners are the primary support providers to children, the Government pilot scheme, which began in 2021, is seeking to understand the benefits of a local, multi-agency approach to identification of child victims of modern slavery.
The pilot transplants the decision-making process from the SCA to the Local Authority where the child was referred, or where they are resident. Multi-agency panels within these authorities will make both the reasonable grounds and conclusive grounds decision, using a panel of local experts which must comprise social workers, the police, and representatives from health bodies – more professionals may be involved. This places responsibility for the decision with those who already have safeguarding duties towards the child.
The pilot has lowered average decision wait times to 101 days compared to 471 days for those not involved in the pilot. The approach also enables decisions about whether a child is a victim of modern slavery to be made by those involved in their care and ensure the decisions made are closely aligned with the provision of local, needs-based support and any law enforcement response.
Most recently, eight new areas have joined the pilot, expanding its reach within the UK. The new areas are:
- Birmingham
- Edinburgh
- Hampshire
- Northern Ireland
- Shropshire
- Southwark
- Telford and Wrekin
- West Sussex
The pilot forms part of a wider programme of activity to identify sustainable longer-term options for the NRM. Wider efforts to tackle modern slavery backlogs include recruiting more than 180 new staff to reduce lengthy decision-making times and creating a more user-friendly referral form for frontline first responders.
Commentary
This will be important news to practitioners in these areas because this pilot has thus far transformed decision-making for NRM decisions in the areas it has already been rolled out to. The increased geographic spread of the pilot ensures broader representation of children, and the safeguarding of their interests, across the UK.
Local decision making should lead to quicker and more accurate decisions for children, which will allow them to better access the support of being recognised as a victim of exploitation.