Slavery

Modern slavery is a vicious crime that dehumanises people. Our government is committed to tackling this scourge in all its forms. We are taking forward a multi-pronged approach to tackling modern slavery through delivery, reform and integration across wider Government strategies – including the Restoring Order and Control programme and Violence Against Women and Girls Strategy.

• The focus of this Government has been on delivery; this is reflected in our action on key manifesto commitments such as on child criminal exploitation and the creation of the Fair Work Agency. We have made big inroads on clearing the National Referral Mechanism (NRM) backlog and are working to reform the victim identification system. Alongside this, we have updated guidance for modern slavery statements and are progressing work to strengthen the transparency in supply chains regime, including consideration of mandating reporting, penalties for non-compliance, and the extending requirements to public bodies.
• We have also published the First Responder Toolkit for England and Wales to provide clear, practical guidance for both new and experienced First Responders, helping to simplify the process of referring potential modern slavery victims into the National Referral Mechanism.

Recognising the invaluable insights survivors have to share in tackling this scourge, in March 2026, we conducted eight survivor engagement workshops to better understand lived experience on the themes of definitions, identification, and decision-making. The evidence we received is informing ongoing policy development and measures being developed as part of the Immigration and Asylum Bill which will strengthen the modern slavery system.

The Government remains committed to tackling modern slavery in all its forms, and to giving survivors the support and certainty they need to recover.