Strengthening Modern Slavery Legislation through Improved Parliamentary Partnerships

Rights Lab project lead: Katarina Schwarz
Funder: ESRC IAA
Duration: March 2023 – November 2023
Programme: Law and Policy

In the 2022 Queen’s Speech, the Government stated its intention to publish a new Modern Slavery (MS) Bill, to ‘Enshrin[e] in domestic law the Government’s international obligations to victims of modern slavery, especially regarding their rights to assistance and support’. This represents the most significant MS legislation in the UK since the 2015 MS Act. Announced in the context of increasing anti-immigration agenda and claims of abuse of MS laws, there are fears the new Bill will result in a restriction of victims’ rights. Our ESRC IAA-funded project (RA4133) has noted a recent uptick in mentions of MS in parliament. 

Through this project, we will increase the MS knowledge of a targeted cohort of parliamentarians who will be influential in the development of MS legislation, as well as civil servants working in the Home Office MS Unit. The project will ensure the active, targeted dissemination of research data to support the development and scrutiny of legislation, so that any new legislation is reflective of the UK’s international obligations in relation to victim support and protection. New legislation will inform the development of guidance and regulations to direct the practice of support organisations working with MS survivors. Strengthened victim support legislation will result in improved care for the 12,000+ survivors referred into the UK’s National Referral Mechanism (NRM) annually.