ATLEU’s submission to the Independent Review of Administrative Law
/Our response to this review is informed by our day to day experience of practising public law and advising survivors of trafficking and slavery and those who help them.
Survivors of trafficking typically rely heavily on others to advocate for them. They are especially dependent on those supporting and advising them to navigate the changing and complex systems through which they are identified and access support, to recover from their experiences. Where survivors are not believed, where they are not identified and where they are unable to access the support they need, we know they are less likely to come forward to cooperate with the authorities. This means traffickers are not held to account, they are not prosecuted by the police and they are not subject to criminal proceedings. They are left free to abuse, exploit and enslave others.
Trafficking is a complex and emerging area of law. There is an absence of domestic legislation and this contributes to a lack of clarity around the UK systems which exist to protect and support survivors of trafficking and slavery. The NRM (National Referral Mechanism) is the framework for identifying and supporting survivors of human trafficking. It sits outside the other statutory frameworks for protecting and supporting vulnerable people, with the state’s legal obligations primarily implemented through policy and guidance. As such, as well as being relatively new, they are also subject to far more frequent change.
There are a series of decisions made about survivors of trafficking, all of which have a bearing on whether they are able to escape permanently from situations of trafficking and exploitation. These include decisions taken by the Single Competent Authority relating to identification, support and leave to remain, and decisions on housing, subsistence and care which are taken by housing and social services departments within local authorities.
There are also decisions taken by the police, local authorities and other first responders, who are responsible for notifying the Single Competent Authority, and referring those who are potentially victims of trafficking to be identified. This is a crucial role. Where it is not carried out, survivors may be left in the hands of traffickers, crimes are not investigated and traffickers get off scot free, creating an environment for organised crime to thrive.
