A new report from a centre-right thinktank has found that individuals seeking asylum are not commonly exploit human trafficking protections in Britain, contradicting claims from successive home secretaries.
Scant Proof of Fabricated Allegations
The analysis by the thinktank Bright Blue identifies little proof that refugee claimants are falsely claiming of being survivors of human trafficking as a strategy to stay in the country. This is despite several home secretaries having blamed these rules for hindering deportation efforts.
"The Home Office believes human trafficking assessment process is subject to abuse as it permits individuals to stay in Britain for longer periods," stated Ryan Shorthouse, founder and executive chair of the institute. "However, although there could be certain exploitation, we doubt that the abuse is pervasive."
Policy Changes Could Have Minimal Effect
The results further indicate that pledges by the current home secretary, Shabana Mahmood, to change modern slavery rules may achieve only limited success in reducing the number of asylum claimants. Proposals are anticipated to be detailed early next year.
The authors, nevertheless, do suggest a revised framework centered on quicker identification of trafficking cases as a method to eradicate the small degree of misuse that they say does occur.
Rising Referrals and Government Response
The number of people referred to the system has climbed steeply since it was established under the 2015 act, from approximately 3,000 that year to over 19,000 last year.
Previous interior ministers have attributed the asylum system for the rise, alleging applicants of seeking to be classified as survivors of modern-day slavery to avoid deportation.
They point to the data that some of the nationalities most frequently identified for evaluation also represent a large portion of mainstream asylum applications. UK citizens make up the largest group, then come people from Albania, Vietnam and Eritrean backgrounds.
Assessment Outcomes
- The report found that 90% of those referred were judged as having reasonable grounds for being classified as survivors, suggesting most instances were not deemed frivolous.
- Furthermore, not most individuals who are determined to have suffered to modern-day slavery granted leave to remain in the UK. This status more often leads to compensation and merely temporary permission to remain.
Proposed Solutions
The report's writers recommend ministers must equip statutory first-responder organisations such as the Home Office and Border Force to identify indicators of slavery at an earlier stage. Once that is done, they say ministers could prohibit detained individuals – having already been screened – from receiving referrals at all.
Reacting to the findings, an interior ministry representative commented: "Modern slavery referrals are rising. This is why the home secretary announced reforms … to spot vulnerable people and prevent exploitation."
"These proposals fundamentally reforms the approach to illegal migration, making Britain a less attractive destination for illegal migrants and harder for people to obstruct their removal from Britain," they concluded.
