Government response to review on tackling modern slavery examined

• Watch Parliament TV: ICAI’s review on the UK’s approach to tackling modern slavery through aid programmes
• Sub-Committee on ICAI

Wednesday 30 June 2021 (Virtual meeting)

• Session will be conducted with remote participation by witnesses and Committee members

At 9.30am

• Dame Sara Thornton, Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner
• Christian Guy, CEO, Justice and Care

At 10.15am

• Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon, Minister for South Asia and the Commonwealth at the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office
• Jennifer Townson, Migration and Modern Slavery Envoy, Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office

Purpose of the Session

The session follows a critical review of the government’s work on tackling modern slavery, which a 2016 study by the International Labour Organisation of the United Nations estimated had 40 million victims on any given day. The term ‘modern slavery’ lacks precise definition but includes bonded and forced labour, human trafficking (including for sexual exploitation) and child labour.

A review of UK government work on tackling the issue was carried out between 2014 and 2020 by the Independent Commission on Aid Impact (ICAI), an independent government body that audits aid programmes and related activity.

The review focused on the government’s efforts to tackle modern slavery through overseas aid programmes, working on the premise that modern slavery may be inimical to sustainable development and poverty reduction. The review was critical of several aspects of the government’s £240m anti-modern slavery programme. It classified the work as unsatisfactory or poor in most areas of:

• how the government has built and applied the evidence base in support of its modern slavery work;
• how the government has built its portfolio of programmes and activities; and
• how the portfolio has delivered results and value for money.

The review by the aid programme watchdog ICAI made a number of recommendations which the government responded to. It is these responses which will be scrutinised on 30 June by MPs on the Sub Committee on the Work of the Independent Commission for Aid Impact.

The Sub-Committee evidence session will be divided into two panels. The first panel will consist of the Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner and former senior police officer, Dame Sara Thornton, and Christian Guy, CEO, Justice and Care, which works with governments to dismantle criminal networks.

The second panel to answer MP’s questions will be Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon, the Minister for South Asia and the Commonwealth, who has responsibility for modern slavery in the FCDO, and Jennifer Townson, the government’s Migration and Modern Slavery envoy. Ms Townson’s role includes advocating against modern slavery globally and engaging with international partners on migration policy.

Further information 

• About Parliament: Select Committees

Image: ICAI