Covid 19 and Victims of Modern Day Slavery and Human Trafficking. The Government Replies.

May 5, 2020 | News

Covid 19 and Victims of Modern Day Slavery and Human Trafficking. The Government Replies.

Coronavirus 

I wrote to the  Government about how the COVID-19 pandemic will affect our ability to support victims of modern slavery in the National Referral Mechanism (NRM). This followed a call made by a group of 27 NGOs who are working with victims of modern slavery.

Today I received this reply from, Victoria Atkins MP, the Minister for Safeguarding. (Click here to read the full reply:)

Covid and victims of modern day slavery

In it the Minister says “Please be assured that as part of our contingency planning, we have thought very carefully about how we can continue to deliver services to victims of modern slavery.”

She also says:

“In order to ensure that our Victim Care Contract providers can continue to provide support to victims, we have confirmed that all individuals working on the operation of the contract are able to be included in the definition of ‘key workers’ for the purposes of access to school places.”

The Government also made the following welcome decision about accommodation for victims:

“To ensure victims feel supported and safe during these difficult times, on 6 April we announced that all individuals in accommodation support provided by the Victim Care Contract will not be required to move on from their government-funded accommodation for the next three months.”

 

And the Minister promises: “We will continue to review current policies and practices in line with PHE guidance throughout this pandemic.”

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