Up to 20 children are potential victims of modern slavery in Trafford as town hall chiefs in Trafford have reiterated the authority's 'zero tolerance' stance on the issue. Councils across the country were required to publish statements addressing the issue in a move costing Government £36million in 2021.
Modern slavery is defined as the recruitment, movement, harbouring or receiving of children, women or men through the use of force. It occurs on a huge scale across the globe and encompasses slavery, human trafficking, criminal exploitation, forced labour and sexual and domestic servitude.
A report to Trafford's executive committee said they had four cases in the borough of 'cuckooing' - where drug dealers take over the home of a vulnerable person to use it as a base for county-lines dealing. And there are currently between 15 and 20 children's cases that are under investigation by the National Referral Mechanism (NRM) - a framework for identifying potential victims of modern slavery.
Executive member for culture, leisure and strategic partnerships, Coun Jo Harding, said in a report that between 10,000 and 13,000 potential victims in the UK were identified in 2013, but in 2015 only 3,266 potential victims were identified and referred to the NRM. "Poverty makes people more vulnerable to falling victim to modern slavery and victims of modern slavery are vulnerable to falling into poverty after escaping from their traffickers," she said.
"Therefore, by preventing people from being exploited through modern slavery we are contributing towards the wider approach to preventing people from being in poverty."
The committee agreed the following statement on modern slavery: "Trafford council is committed to preventing slavery and human trafficking in its corporate activities and to ensuring that is supply chains are free from slavery and human trafficking. There is zero tolerance towards modern slavery and human trafficking and all forms of bribery and corruption associated with these criminal activities.
"Trafford council takes care to ensure that slavery and human trafficking does not exist in any part of the council's work or wider supply chain and will ensure compliance with all legal and regulatory responsibilities, including the Modern Slavery Act 2015 and relevant legislation."
READ NEXT:
