A new report from a centre-right thinktank has found that asylum seekers do not widely abuse human trafficking protections in Britain, undermining assertions made by successive home secretaries.
Limited Evidence of False Claims
The analysis by the thinktank Bright Blue finds limited evidence that asylum seekers are falsely claiming to have been survivors of human trafficking as a tactic to stay in the country. This is despite several home secretaries pointing to the system for impeding deportation efforts.
"The interior ministry thinks human trafficking assessment process is subject to abuse because it allows individuals to stay in the country a bit longer," stated the thinktank's founder, executive chairman of Bright Blue. "However, although there may be certain exploitation, we doubt that the abuse is pervasive."
Reforms May Have Minimal Effect
The results further indicate that promises by the current home secretary, Shabana Mahmood, to change modern slavery rules may achieve only modest results in reducing asylum application numbers. Proposals are expected to be set out in the coming year.
The researchers, however, do suggest a new system focused on quicker identification of modern slavery as a method to eliminate the limited amount of misuse that they say does occur.
Increasing Cases and Official Stance
The number of people entered into the framework has climbed steeply since its introduction under the 2015 act, from approximately 3,000 that year to over 19,000 in the most recent year.
Recent home secretaries have blamed the asylum system for the rise, alleging applicants of seeking to be classified as victims of modern-day slavery to avoid deportation.
They point to the data that certain of the nationalities most commonly referred for assessment also represent those that form the bulk of asylum claims. British nationals constitute the largest group, then come individuals from Albanian, Vietnamese and Eritrea nationalities.
Assessment Outcomes
- The report found that 90% of assessed cases were judged to have reasonable grounds for classification as victims, suggesting most instances were not vexatious.
- Nor are the vast majority of those found to have suffered from trafficking granted permission to stay permanently. The classification more often leads to compensation and only short-term leave to stay.
Proposed Solutions
The report's writers suggest ministers must equip statutory first-responder organisations such as the interior department and border officials to detect indicators of slavery at an earlier stage. Once that is done, the report states the government could ban those in detention – having already been screened – from being referred entirely.
In response, a Home Office spokesperson said: "Modern slavery referrals are increasing. This is the reason the interior minister proposed changes … to identify vulnerable people and stop misuse."
"The statement significantly overhaul the strategy for illegal migration, making Britain a less appealing target for unlawful entrants and more difficult for individuals to block their removal from Britain," they concluded.
