🔗 Share this article UK Refugee Applicants Not Broadly Abusing Human Trafficking Rules, Report Finds A new report by a conservative-leaning policy institute has found that asylum seekers are not widely abuse the modern slavery system in Britain, undermining claims from successive home secretaries. Scant Proof of Fabricated Allegations The report from Bright Blue identifies little proof that asylum seekers are falsely claiming to have been survivors of human trafficking as a strategy to remain in the country. This is despite several home secretaries pointing to the system for hindering removal operations. "The Home Office believes the modern slavery referral system is being abused as it permits people to stay in the country a bit longer," said the thinktank's founder, founder and executive chair of Bright Blue. "But while there may be certain exploitation, we doubt that the abuse is widespread." Reforms May Have Minimal Effect The results further indicate that promises by the current home secretary, Shabana Mahmood, to change modern slavery rules will likely have limited success in lowering the number of asylum claimants. Her plans are anticipated to be set out early next year. The authors, nevertheless, do suggest a new system focused on earlier detection of trafficking cases as a method to eliminate the limited amount of abuse that they say exists. Rising Referrals and Official Stance The number of people referred to the framework has climbed steeply since it was established under the 2015 act, from just over 3,000 that year to over 19,000 in the most recent year. Recent home secretaries have blamed the asylum system for the rise, alleging applicants of attempting to be classified as victims of human trafficking to avoid deportation. They point to the data that certain of the nationalities most frequently identified for evaluation also represent a large portion of the bulk of asylum claims. British nationals make up the biggest cohort, then come people from Albanian, Vietnamese and Eritrea nationalities. Assessment Outcomes The report found that 90% of assessed cases were judged to have valid reasons for being classified as victims, suggesting most instances were not frivolous. Nor are the vast majority of those found to have suffered to modern-day slavery awarded permission to stay permanently. This status more often leads to compensation and merely temporary permission to stay. Proposed Solutions The report's writers suggest the government must equip statutory first-responder organisations including the interior department and border officials to detect indicators of slavery more quickly. Following this improvement, they say ministers could prohibit those in detention – who will have already been assessed – from being referred entirely. Reacting to the findings, an interior ministry representative commented: "Modern slavery referrals are rising. This is why the interior minister proposed changes … to spot at-risk individuals and stop exploitation." "These proposals fundamentally reforms the strategy for illegal migration, making Britain a less attractive destination for illegal migrants and harder for people to obstruct their removal from Britain," the spokesperson added.