Migrant Help to provide training to staff after admitting trafficking policy breach

Migrant Help, one of the main subcontractors responsible for providing trafficking support to victims under the modern slavery victim care contract, has admitted that they acted in breach of the Home Office’s recovery needs assessment policy by refusing to provide a victim with a copy of a decision made by the competent authority to terminate their trafficking support.

Following a complaint made by Asylum Aid, Migrant Help admitted that there was “a potential gap in staff awareness” of the policy. It was also admitted that managers at Migrant Help’s modern slavery victim care team, as well as the Salvation Army (the prime contractor for trafficking support in the UK), had given incorrect instructions to support workers about disclosing trafficking support decisions to victims.

In response to the complaint, Migrant Help promised to provide further training to staff and review internal procedures to ensure compliance with the policy. This case highlights a wider problem in the delivery of modern slavery support. The Home Office’s policies impose clear duties on support providers, but those duties are not always understood or applied in practice.

What the recovery needs assessment policy says

The recovery needs assessment policy states that, following a positive conclusive grounds decision, a recognised victim of human trafficking or modern slavery is entitled to at least 45 calendar days of trafficking support. This support can be extended if the victim has ongoing recovery needs arising from their modern slavery experiences, which are determined through the recovery needs assessment process.

The victim’s support worker completes a recovery needs assessment form setting out recommendations about the victim’s ongoing support needs, and applies to the competent authority, through the Salvation Army, for an extension of trafficking support for the victim. The competent authority then decides whether to extend or end trafficking support, in full or in part.

Problems in practice

One of the main problems with the recovery needs assessment process is that the competent authority does not send decisions directly to victims. Instead, it sends them to support providers, expecting that support workers will explain the decision to victims and provide victims with copies of both the decision letter and the recovery needs assessment form.

The policy states:

The RNA decision will be communicated to the victim as soon as possible through their support worker, who will be able to explain the implications of this decision for the victim’s support provision. When informing the victim of the decision, the support worker will make a copy of the relevant decision letter and RNA form available to the victim.

In practice, this often does not happen. Victims are frequently not given copies of trafficking support decisions, leaving them unaware of why their support was reduced or stopped. They are not given copies of the recovery needs assessment forms, leaving them unaware of what recommendations were made (or not made) by their support worker in relation to their ongoing recovery needs. Victims are also often unaware that there is a 28 day deadline to request reconsideration of such a decision.

This failure raises serious concerns about access to justice and fair process. It prevents victims from understanding or challenging decisions that may stop their access to safe house accommodation, financial support, or contact with a support worker.

The complaint

Asylum Aid recently assisted a victim whose support worker at Migrant Help explicitly refused to provide copies of the decision ending his trafficking support and the recovery needs assessment form. Despite repeated requests, the documents were withheld in breach of the policy.

In response to Asylum Aid’s complaint, Migrant Help admitted in correspondence that they had been incorrectly instructed by the Salvation Army that support workers should not give copies of trafficking support decisions to victims. Victims and their lawyers were instead told to request the documents through a subject access request.

This approach causes two key problems. First, it breaches the recovery needs assessment policy, which clearly requires support workers to provide copies of decisions and recovery needs assessment forms to victims. Second, it often takes more than a month to obtain documents through subject access procedures, meaning victims may miss the 28 day deadline to seek reconsideration.

Migrant Help acknowledged that their staff were unaware of the policy and the requirement to provide copies of the documents to victims because the policy was not “saved for [Migrant Help’s] staff to access quickly,” creating “a potential gap in staff awareness of this specific Policy.”

What practitioners should do

Practitioners should ensure that their clients are informed of their rights under the recovery needs assessment policy.

Where victims are not provided with copies of decisions or recovery needs assessment forms, practitioners should consider raising the matter with the support provider, the Salvation Army, or if necessary through a formal complaint.

Decisions to terminate or limit trafficking support can also be challenged through judicial review, but all alternative remedies should be exhausted first. Prompt action is crucial, as the 28 day time limit runs from the date of the decision, not from when the victim receives it.

Final thoughts

This case highlights a wider problem in the delivery of modern slavery support. The Home Office’s policies impose clear duties on support providers, but those duties are not always understood or applied in practice.

Migrant Help’s acknowledgment of a breach and its commitment to further training are welcome. However, it is vital that all subcontractors – not only Migrant Help – comply with their obligations under the recovery needs assessment process and the policy is applied consistently across the service. Practitioners must remain alert to procedural failings that undermine victims’ rights.

Ensuring victims receive copies of decisions affecting their access to trafficking support is not just a matter of good practice, it is fundamental to access to justice. Victims must be properly informed so that they can challenge decisions that directly affect their recovery and safety.