The House of Lords yesterday continued its consideration in
committee of the Nationality and Borders Bill.
Extracts
(CB)
(12.15): My Lords, I declare my interests in the register. I was
much involved with the Modern Slavery Act and the review led by
the noble Lord, Lord Field, so I feel I have some knowledge of
this. I do not know whether the Minister, who is not at the Home
Office, realises the extent to which all the non-governmental
organisations of this country—including the Salvation
Army which works for the Government on modern slavery,
together with the anti- slavery commissioner—deplore this part of
the Bill without exception. This Minister may not know that but,
goodness me, the Home Office does.
(12.30): As a
Church, and like many faith groups—I pay tribute, as others have,
to the Salvation Army and the Medaille Trust—we wholeheartedly
welcomed the Modern Slavery Act 2015.
(12.40): Clause
58 will deter victims from coming forward, reduce the number of
successful prosecutions and police investigations and leave the
most dangerous criminals free. It is for this reason that the
police and prosecutors have voiced their concerns. The
Government’s own NRM supporter, the Salvation Army, which has
held the victim care contract for over 10 years, has expressed
grave concerns.
(12.45): My noble and learned friend referred to the
Salvation Army which is, as she said, the advisers to the
Government on this issue. It says:
“The Salvation Army has held the Government’s Modern Slavery
Victim Care and Co-ordination contract for over 10 years. In that
time, we have supported 15,000 survivors of modern slavery. We,
along with our colleagues across the anti-trafficking sector”—
all of us have seen reams of representations from pretty much
every representative group that there is—
“would urge you to … ensure that vulnerable survivors of
trafficking and slavery are not prevented from accessing the
support they deserve.”
(12.59): In relation
to trafficking information notices, Sara said in her letter that
trauma suffered by victims of modern slavery can result in
delayed disclosure, difficulty recalling facts or symptoms of
post-traumatic stress disorder. She went on to say that evidence
from the Salvation Army pointed to the fact that many victims
initially recall their experiences with contradictions and
inconsistencies...
(13. 20): ...it must
come to something when large numbers of the governing party as
well as all the other parties that make up this House, including
organisations of all faiths, are arraigned against this measure,
along with all the voluntary sector, including the Government’s
own voluntary organisation, the Salvation Army.
To read the full debate, CLICK HERE
