The Home Office is to take over responsibility for managing the delivery of care for adult victims of slavery, the department announced.
The lead for overseeing support services for trafficking victims, delivered by The Salvation Army, will be transferred from the Ministry of Justice to the Home Office by the end of February.
The move will ensure that the experience and needs of victims feed into the wide-ranging work being led by the new Modern Slavery Unit within the Home Office including the proposed Modern Slavery Bill, wider policy development, strengthened law enforcement and work with source countries.
Home Office Minister, Karen Bradley, said: “The Home Office is leading co-ordinated action to stamp out modern slavery and it is right that managing support for victims should be central to and inform that work .
“At the heart of everything we do is the need to protect victims and prevent further men, women and children falling prey to this particularly evil crime.”
The support service provides accommodation and assistance to victims through a network of safe houses across England and Wales. Figures released last week show The Salvation Army supported 399 victims between July and December 2013.
The Ministry of Justice will continue to joint-fund the provision of the services and will be closely involved in the procurement of the new contract.
Modern slavery encompasses human trafficking, slavery, forced labour and domestic servitude. The Salvation Army won an open and transparent competitive tender and has managed this service since July 2011. The Salvation Army sub-contracts the provision of accommodation and support services for potential victims of human trafficking to 11 local partner organisations through a network of safe houses across England and Wales. The contract meets the Government’s obligations under Article 12 of the European Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings, and Article 11 of the European Directive on preventing and combating trafficking in human beings and protecting its victims.
