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On 28 March 2025, the House of Lords is scheduled to debate the following motion:

Baroness O’Grady of Upper Holloway (Labour) to move that this House takes note of the report from the Modern Slavery Act 2015 Committee ‘The Modern Slavery Act 2015: Becoming world-leading again’.

Baroness O’Grady chaired the House of Lords Modern Slavery Act 2015 Committee.

The House of Commons is scheduled to debate a motion noting the 10th anniversary of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 on 27 March 2025.

1. Measures introduced by the Modern Slavery Act 2015

The Modern Slavery Bill received royal assent in March 2015. It was passed under David Cameron’s Conservative government. It was described by some as “world-leading” in its approach to tackling modern slavery.[1]

The purpose of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 was to consolidate and simplify the then existing offences into a single act.[2] Its provisions:

  • introduced a statutory defence for victims of trafficking or slavery forced to commit a criminal offence
  • increased the maximum sentence available for the most serious offenders to life imprisonment
  • introduced two civil orders in the form of slavery and trafficking prevention orders (STPOs) and slavery and trafficking risk orders (STROs) to restrict the activity of those who pose a risk of causing harm[3]
  • created an Independent Anti-slavery Commissioner (IASC) to improve and better coordinate the response to modern slavery
  • enabled the secretary of state to make regulations on the identification of and support for victims and placed a duty on them to produce statutory guidance on victim identification and victim services
  • made provision for independent child trafficking advocates
  • established a legal duty for specified public authorities to notify the Home Office where they had reasonable grounds to believe that a person may have been a victim of modern slavery
  • introduced a requirement for businesses over a certain size threshold to disclose each year what action they had taken to ensure that there was no modern slavery in their business or supply chain
  • enabled law enforcement to stop boats where slaves were suspected of being held or trafficked

Following the implementation of the Modern Slavery Act 2015, the national referral mechanism (NRM) process was extended to all victims of modern slavery in England and Wales from 31 July 2015.[4] The NRM is a framework for identifying and referring potential victims of modern slavery and ensuring they receive the appropriate support. It was first introduced in 2009 to meet the UK’s obligations under the Council of Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings.[5]

Background to the legislation and a summary of its provisions can be found in the following briefings:

2. Reviews and developments since the implementation of the Modern Slavery Act 2015

There have been two government commissioned independent reviews of the act.

In 2016, Caroline Haughey KC published a report looking into how well the act’s provisions had been implemented and whether there were any gaps in the legislation.[6] Overall, the review found the act had set an “international benchmark to which other jurisdictions aspire”, and that law enforcement agencies were using the powers in the act to increase the number of prosecutions and to support more victims of modern slavery.[7] However, it found that there was more to do to deliver greater consistency in how law enforcement and criminal justice agencies dealt with the victims and offenders.[8] It also called for better training, better intelligence and a more structured approach to identifying, investigating, prosecuting and preventing slavery.

In 2019, Frank Field (then Independent MP for Birkenhead), Baroness Butler-Sloss (Crossbench peer) and Maria Miller (then Conservative MP for Basingstoke) published a report examining the operations and effectiveness of the act in four specific areas: the role of the IASC, transparency in supply chains, independent child trafficking advocates and the legal application of the Modern Slavery Act.[9] It made 80 recommendations including emphasising the independence of the commissioner; strengthening statutory guidance on transparency in supply chains; creating policy guidance to help with interpretation of the act; and calling for amendments to the act to reflect more clearly that a child was not able to consent to any element of their trafficking.[10]

In 2022, the Queen’s Speech set out the then Conservative government’s intention to bring forward a new modern slavery bill, with a purpose to:

Strengthen the protection and support for victims of human trafficking and modern slavery and increase the accountability of companies and other organisations to drive out modern slavery from their supply chains.[11]

However, no modern slavery bill was introduced in the 2022–23 parliamentary session, or in the 2023–24 session leading to the 2024 general election.

The 2024 King’s Speech outlined the new Labour government’s intention for an Employment Rights Bill, which would seek to “make work pay” and would introduce a “new deal for working people to ban exploitative practices and enhance employment rights”.[12] The bill was introduced in the House of Commons on 10 October 2024 and had its third reading on 12 March 2025. It is scheduled to have its second reading in the House of Lords on 27 March 2025.

Jess Phillips, the minister for safeguarding and violence against women and girls and whose portfolio includes modern slavery, said prior to the 2024 general election that modern slavery should be ended “for good”.[13] She said that a Labour government should adopt a “holistic approach” to preventing modern slavery by understanding how it intersects with a variety of issues, including immigration, worker protection, crime, homelessness, child protection, inequality, climate change and global security.

3. House of Lords Modern Slavery Act 2015 Committee: Findings and recommendations

On 24 January 2024, the House of Lords appointed a committee to consider the Modern Slavery Act 2015. The committee focused its inquiry on:

  • the impact of immigration legislation
  • the care sector as a case study of labour exploitation to demonstrate the practical impact of the act
  • enforcement of the act
  • supply chains
  • the IASC

The committee published its report on 16 October 2024.[14] The committee said while the act may have once been considered a world-leading piece of legislation to tackle modern slavery, developments “worldwide and in the UK in the past nine years have led to the UK falling behind internationally”. Its key findings included:[15]

  • Recent immigration legislation under previous governments has limited the victim support infrastructure introduced by the act. For instance, the committee highlighted the requirement under the Nationality and Borders Act 2022 for individuals to provide evidence within a given period for the purpose of decisions on whether they were victims of modern slavery. The committee argued the requirement did not adequately consider the impact of trauma on modern slavery victims and the time it would take to recover.
  • The fragmented regulation of the labour market can limit the ability to address the fast-evolving nature of modern slavery. For example, the increase in reports of modern slavery in the care sector had not been anticipated when the legislation was introduced. The committee heard evidence that many in the sector were being “charged exorbitant recruitment fees and subjected to working conditions that flout the law”. The committee suggested this resulted from the “relaxation of visa rules without there being appropriate regulation of employers in place”.
  • The proportion of prosecutions to NRM referrals was only 1.8%, which meant that “perpetrators are free to profit from victims without feeling at substantial risk of repercussions”.
  • Requirements for companies to report how they tackle modern slavery in their supply chains were too “limited to have significant impact”. The committee found that statements by companies were inconsistent and the “lack of mandated requirements for content makes it difficult for companies to be held accountable”.
  • The post of the IASC had remained vacant for 18 months. The committee argued this “sent a message that the previous government had deprioritised” its work.

The committee made a number of recommendations on the five focus areas. The key recommendations included:

  • Impact of immigration legislation: the government’s immigration policy and legislation should recognise the “very real difference” between migrants who come to the UK willingly and those who have been trafficked as a victim of modern slavery. The government should provide rights to victims, including temporary immigration status, recourse to public funds and access to work, providing a route to permanent settlement in the UK. The committee also called on the government to review its policy and procedures to ensure that primary legislation and statutory guidance were “positively compliant” with its international obligations, including the European Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings.[16]
  • Care sector: the government should establish an independent arms-length single enforcement body to “ensure stronger compliance with relevant labour rights and standards”. The committee argued that, as a minimum, the body should “act as a single point of contact for labour exploitation across all sectors”.[17]
  • Enforcement of the act: the government should introduce legislation to allow the wider use of STROs and STPOs, “particularly enabling issue of STROs on acquittal, applications for orders across the boundaries of different police forces, and electronic monitoring of the conditions and notification requirements”.[18]
  • Supply chains: the government should make the publication of statements on its registry mandatory, setting out the required topics for each statement to cover. The committee recommended the government create an online summary dashboard that provided information on the total number of statements by sector and examples of good and bad reporting by companies. It also called for the government to introduce sanctions for organisations that did not comply with supply chain requirements, and for import laws banning goods coming into the UK if they are produced by companies known to use forced labour.[19]
  • IASC: the government should require its future candidates for the IASC post to have a pre-appointment hearing with the House of Commons Home Affairs Committee to ensure independent scrutiny of the process. The committee also called on the government to ensure the IASC’s budget was sufficient for its responsibilities.[20]

4. Government response to the committee report

The Labour government published its response to the committee’s report on 16 December 2024.[21]

The government acknowledged that it was “vital that this government starts acting now to address some of the immediate problems that exist while also considering much needed longer term changes”.[22] It said the government would take a “holistic victim-centred approach”, with joint working across government, law enforcement, criminal justice partners and civil society.

It welcomed the report and its specific recommendations, stating that many had been accepted and that several would be “fully considered” as the government developed its policies.[23] It also outlined various commitments that had already been made and actions it had taken since coming into government in July 2024. These included:

  • Manifesto commitment to introduce a “standalone offence” of child exploitation.
  • Creation of the Fair Work Agency (FWA) through the Employment Rights Bill. The government said the FWA would be the single enforcement body and would act as the principal body responsible for ensuring compliance with labour rights and standards across all sectors. It would be an executive agency of the Department for Business and Trade.
  • A pledge to “eradicate the backlog of decisions” on modern slavery cases referred to the NRM by hiring 200 additional Home Office staff to process cases.
  • Ensuring that the portfolio for modern slavery was under the minister for safeguarding and violence against women and girls. The government said it was “clear on the distinction between migrants and those who are trafficked as victims of modern slavery”.
  • Its commitment to establishing fair pay agreements for the adult social care. It said the government was at an early stage of developing the agreement and that the Employment Rights Bill included provision for state enforcement of pay in new fair pay agreements.
  • Commitment to work with law enforcement and criminal justice partners to explore the use and effectiveness of STROs and STPOs. The government said it would continue to keep the legislation under review.

The government said it was also reviewing how it could strengthen penalties for organisations that did not comply with supply chain requirements.[24] It said reforms would require legislative changes and therefore would need to be considered “against a wider review of how best government can use legislative and non-legislative measures to tackle forced labour and increase transparency in global supply chains”. It said the government would set out next steps in “due course”. On the issue of transparency, it said the Home Office was currently developing a public facing data dashboard that would provide more information to the public on modern slavery statements.

5. Read more

Cover image by Sorapong Chaipanya on Pexels.

References

  1. Home Office, ‘Independent review of the Modern Slavery Act 2015: Final report’, May 2019, CP 100, p 7. Return to text
  2. Home Office, ‘Modern Slavery Act 2015’, 30 July 2018. Return to text
  3. STPOs are aimed at those convicted, cautioned, or who received a reprimand or final warning for a slavery or human trafficking offence. STROs are aimed at individuals who haven’t been convicted of a slavery or human trafficking offence. Return to text
  4. Home Office, ‘National referral mechanism guidance: Adult (England and Wales)’, 20 October 2024. Return to text
  5. Home Office, ‘Review of the national referral mechanism for victims of human trafficking’, November 2024, p 11. Return to text
  6. Home Office, ‘Modern Slavery Act 2015 review: One year on’, 31 July 2016. Return to text
  7. As above, p 3. Return to text
  8. As above, pp 4–5. Return to text
  9. Home Office, ‘Independent review of the Modern Slavery Act 2015: Final report’, May 2019, CP 100, p 7. Return to text
  10. As above, pp 13–7. Return to text
  11. HM Government, ‘Queen’s speech 2022: Background briefing notes’, 10 May 2022, p 83. Return to text
  12. HM Government, ‘King’s speech 2024: Background briefing notes’, 17 July 2024, p 20. Return to text
  13. Labourlist, ‘Jess Phillips: Labour should commit to ending modern slavery for good’, 12 June 2024. Return to text
  14. House of Lords Modern Slavery Act 2015 Committee, ‘The Modern Slavery Act 2015: Becoming world-leading again’, 16 October 2024, HL Paper 8 of session 2024–25. Return to text
  15. As above, p 3; and House of Lords Modern Slavery Act 2015 Committee, ‘UK’s response to modern slavery has not kept up with the advances of other nations’, 16 October 2024. Return to text
  16. House of Lords Modern Slavery Act 2015 Committee, ‘The Modern Slavery Act 2015: Becoming world-leading again’, 16 October 2022, HL Paper 8 of session 2024–25, pp 73–5. Return to text
  17. As above, p 75. Return to text
  18. As above, p 77. Return to text
  19. As above, pp 78–80. Return to text
  20. As above, p 80. Return to text
  21. Home Office, ‘Modern slavery: Government response to House of Lords committee report’, 16 December 2024. Return to text
  22. As above. Return to text
  23. As above. Return to text
  24. As above. Return to text