Report chair and CEO of charity Unseen welcomes Modern Slavery Bill

Andrew Wallis – chair of the Centre for Social Justice It Happens Here report and CEO of anti-slavery charity Unseen welcomes the legislation announced in the Queen’s Speech.

“It is encouraging that the government is pursuing our recommendations through reviewing both legislation and major policies – including revising the current National Referral Mechanism (NRM).
“This is an opportunity to introduce real change in the UK and to lead in the fight against modern slavery on a global level.
“California has seen success with ‘Transparency in Supply Chains’ (TISC) legislation, where large businesses are now disclosing what they are doing to prevent slavery in their work practices and supply chains – the UK now has an opportunity to take this further with a national policy.
“We would strongly urge government to be bold and support and protect British businesses by including similar measures in the Modern Slavery Bill.
“As an organisation that also works directly with survivors we welcome the recognition that the UK must improve support for victims, and importantly continue to help them to be reintegrated into society.
“Last year Unseen launched a unique Resettlement Programme to continue to support survivors once they leave the security of our safe-house. We know first hand how essential this step is in helping survivors become resilient to being re- exploited”.