National Referral Mechanism
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The National Referral Mechanism is the UK’s framework for identifying victims of modern slavery and trafficking to ensure they can access support and time to recover. The process provides for information about people who may be survivors to be referred to the NRM. There are a number of organisations known as ‘first responders’ who have a duty to refer adults to the NRM, but this can only happen with the agreement of the individual in question. In a potential conflict of interest, first responders include Home Office staff. Other first responder organisations are listed on the and include the Salvation Army, local authorities, the Refugee Council and Migrant Help. AVID and visitors are not first responders and have no such legal duties to identify potential victims and to make referrals to the NRM.
The Single Competent Authority (SCA) and the Immigration Enforcement Competent Authority (IECA) – two bodies within the Home Office - take decisions on receiving a NRM referral. This is a two-stage decision-making process. Initially there is a decision about whether there is evidence that there are ‘reasonable grounds’ to decide that the person is a victim of trafficking or modern slavery, and if the person passes that stage, a second decision as to whether there are ‘conclusive grounds’ for deciding the person is a victim. Essentially this is a process of evidence gathering to decide both tests, with the evidence needed for a reasonable grounds decision being much lower than the subsequent test.
When a reasonable grounds decision has been made, the person is generally entitled to a recovery period of at least 30 days, with the possibility of extensions to this. Where a conclusive grounds decision has been made, a person is entitled to at least 45 days of support, with separate further decision-making about when it is appropriate to end this support.
Where a person who may have been a victim is held in detention the relevant competent authority which takes decisions about them is the IECA [1]. This is the organisation has been set up separately from the SCA which deals with all other cases.
If the person in detention receives a reasonable grounds decision then attempts to remove them from the UK must be paused for a minimum of 30 days. Despite this – as outlined in the – detention is considered as possible “appropriate accommodation for those observing the recovery and reflection period.” This is despite the fact that the recovery period is in part intended to support recovery from the trauma of what a person has been through.
However, when a detained person has been referred to the IECA or identifies themselves as a victim then this also engages the adults at risk policy (AAR) and the possibility that they will be released. Detailed information about the Adults at Risk Policy (AAR) is here.
As AAR applies to potential victims of trafficking and modern slavery, limited weight is given to people who self-identify as a survivor, with greater weight given to people who have a reasonable or conclusive grounds decision. Once a person receives a reasonable grounds decision this triggers a review of their detention on the basis that they will be considered at least at level 2 under AAR. However, even people who have a positive decision by the NRM continue at level 2 of the adults at risk policy. As explained in the AAR policy summary in the handbook it is much easier for the Home Office to decide that continued detention is justified for individuals placed at level 2.
A person’s recognition as a survivor is potentially an ever-changing situation as people who are taken out of the NRM process at any stage no longer fall within AAR and consideration for release, unless they have another factor relating to their vulnerability in detention. The key protection for people accepted into the NRM is that they cannot be removed or deported from the UK.
The process for recognition as a survivor is highly contested and there is a complex system set up as to how this affects detention decisions. People can be taken out of the NRM process at a variety of moments because the IECA takes decisions that they are disqualified or do not meet the evidential tests for a reasonable grounds or conclusive grounds decision.
Disqualification from the NRM is a key issue. If a person is found to be disqualified then the protections of the NRM framework cease. This can arise where there are grounds relating to “public order” or “bad faith”. Broadly the former applies where the person is considered a threat to public on terrorism grounds or has committed serious criminal offences[2] .The latter concerns where the person or a person acting on their behalf “knowingly made a dishonest statement in relation to being a victim of modern slavery.”
Where a detained person has a reasonable grounds decision the Home Office is required to undertake a modern slavery needs assessment to identify their ‘recovery needs’ and any support that is required, but only where the IECA has already stated that the person requires a recovery period. This assessment entails an interview with a member of the Home Office to identify any specific recovery needs. This is followed by a healthcare assessment of any physical or mental health recovery needs and a decision about whether they can be met in detention.
The information obtained by the Home Office interview and healthcare assessment are reviewed for a further decision to be taken internally within the Home Office to decide if “suitable assistance” can be provided in detention. The detained person should be issued with a documented explanation of this decision in form “AAR MS 0003”. Where suitable assistance is deemed to be available within detention the individual will be placed at level 2 of the adults at risk policy, and where it is not available the individual will be placed at level 3. A new needs assessment is required if an individual is transferred within the detention estate or if a member of Home Office staff or the individual believes that their recovery needs have changed.
After the initial recovery period of 30 days where an individual cannot be removed and their needs and suitability for detention are considered, there is the possibility of further recovery periods being issued. However, these are difficult to obtain as the policy states there is a presumption against this.
There is a slightly difference process for people in prison in terms of who within the Home Office is responsible for information gathering and decisions about detention. But the key difference is that any decision to release a person from the prison estate has to be authorised at a more senior level within the Home Office, i.e. at strategic director level.
If a person receives a conclusive grounds decision then they will remain at least at level 2 of AAR. This cannot be changed where a person has a public order disqualification, but this can be revoked if there is a subsequent decision that this was obtained as a result of “bad faith”.
Historically all people accepted as a victim on conclusive grounds were generally granted temporary permission to stay in the UK and released. Broadly, this was on a short-term basis to allow time to recover from any physical or psychological harm, to allow people to engage with compensation schemes or to enable cooperation with the investigation of their exploitation by the police or other public authorities. There was no legal obligation to provide victims with a long-term basis to live in the UK unless they made further immigration or asylum applications.
The general approach to granting leave for people with a criminal conviction who also have a history of trafficking or modern slavery and are subject to deportation processes has been temporarily paused as of February 2025 whilst the government reviews its position.
Future watch:
Look out for changes to the Home Office position on the release and grant of temporary leave to people who are accepted as victims of trafficking or modern slavery but also subject to deportation proceedings.
[1] The IECA takes decisions about:
All adult "Foreign National Offenders" (FNOs) detained in an Immigration Removal Centre.
All adult FNOs in prison where a decision to deport has been made.
All adult FNOs in prison where a decision has yet to be made on deportation.
Non-detained adult FNOs where action to pursue cases towards deportation is taken in the community .
All individuals detained in an Immigration Removal Centre (IRC) managed by the National Returns Command (NRC), including those in the Detained Asylum Casework (DAC) process.
All individuals in the Third Country Unit (TCU)/inadmissible process irrespective of whether detained or non-detained.
[2] The test is set out in S63(3) of the Nationality and Borders Act 2022. The modern slavery guidance defines this as including “the person has been convicted of a terrorist offence; the person has been convicted of any other offence listed in Schedule 4 to the Modern Slavery Act 2015 anywhere in the United Kingdom, or of a corresponding offence; the person is subject to a TPIM notice (within the meaning given by section 2 of the Terrorism Prevention and Investigation Measures Act 2011); there are reasonable grounds to suspect that the person is or has been involved in terrorism-related activity within the meaning given by section 4 of that Act (whether or not the terrorism-related activity is attributable to the person being, or having been, a victim of slavery or human trafficking); the person is subject to a temporary exclusion order imposed under section 2 of the Counter-Terrorism and Security Act 2015; the person is a foreign criminal within the meaning given by section 32(1) of the UK Borders Act 2007 (automatic deportation for foreign criminals); the Secretary of State has made an order in relation to the person under section 40(2) of the British Nationality Act 1981 (order depriving person of citizenship status where to do so is conducive to the public good); the Refugee Convention does not apply to the person by virtue of Article 1(F) of that Convention (serious criminals etc); the person otherwise poses a risk to the national security of the United Kingdom.
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