The Home Office has today been forced to acknowledge that it will
be cutting subsistence support for victims of modern slavery by
42%, from £65 per week to £37.75.
Following an intervention from MP in Prime Minister’s Question
Time, the Home Office put out an official statement clarifying
subsistence support rates for victims of modern slavery. This
statement reveals a significant cut of over £27 per week.
When the Home Office announced online in October that a change
was being made, it stated only that it was ‘aligning subsistence
support between victims of modern slavery and asylum seekers’.
However, they failed to outline, until yesterday, that this
amounts to a 42% cut for slavery victims.
Commenting on this cut in support, Frank said: “This is an awful
day for victims of modern slavery. Such a substantial cut, which
the Government attempted to slip through unnoticed, will of
course only benefit slave drivers and exploiters by shunting
victims onto the streets and back into their clutches. This is
surely not the legacy of the Modern Slavery Act that the Prime
Minster had hoped for.”
ENDS
Please find below the full statement from the Home
Office
A Home Office spokesperson said:
"There will be no reduction in the total amount of money going to
support modern slavery victims.
"Asylum seekers and victims of modern slavery often have similar
essential living needs and so we are aligning the methodology
used to calculate subsistence support we give to both, to ensure
an approach that is consistent and fair.
"The changes, announced last October, will mean a greater level
of subsistence for the most vulnerable, with an increase from
£20.50 a week to £37.75 for dependent children of adult victims,
additional payments for parents of children under 3 and maternity
grants for pregnant women. We are also trebling the length of
time that confirmed victims will receive financial support, from
14 days to 45 days.
"All victims will also continue to receive dedicated and expert
support tailored to their unique needs, including access to
accommodation, legal aid, counselling, NHS medical and dental
services.”
Further Lines:
• Supporting victims of modern slavery to rebuild their lives
after exploitation is a key priority for Government. This is why,
in October 2017, the Government announced a package of measures
to reform the NRM, which will improve decision making and support
for victims.
• For adult victims, the alignment with the asylum seeker
allowance methodology will mean that their financial support will
change from £65 to £37.75 a week. The length of time that
they will receive this support will be trebled from 14 to 45
days.
• There will be a higher level of support if victims are pregnant
or have young children, mirroring the system for asylum seekers.
This includes a one-off £300 maternity grant and an extra £5 per
week for a child under 1 and £3 per week for a child aged 1-3.
Victims of modern slavery do not currently get this additional
support.
• Financial support for dependent children for adult victims will
increase from £20.50 a week to £37.75.
• We are working closely with The Salvation Army and the
Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner to ensure that the
implementation of this change is as smooth as possible.
• The methodology used to set the level of subsistence has been
recognised by the Court of Appeal as lawful, and the figure is
reviewed annually to ensure that it continues to be sufficient to
meet the costs of essential living needs.
• The level that is paid to asylum seekers is reviewed each year
to make sure it is sufficient to cover essential living needs.
The review looks at data provided by the Office for National
Statistics about expenditure by low-income groups on various
items identified as "essential”, supplemented by market research
into their cost.
• The items identified as essential include food, clothes,
toiletries and other necessary living items. Currently, the
allowance is £37.75 per week for each person in the household.
