The Principal Social Worker and Strategic Lead Safeguarding and Adult Social Care introduced the report and stated that it provided a high-level strategic view of the Council’s position on modern day slavery (MDS) and human trafficking. She stated that under the 2015 Modern Day Slavery Act both MDS and human trafficking had been consolidated to ensure increased support and protection for victims. She explained that MDS was the illegal exploitation of people for reasons of sex, forced labour, and in some extreme cases organ harvesting. She added that MDS could happen to people of any age, gender or race, and included human trafficking, which was the coercive movement of people using threats and violence. The Principal Social Worker and Strategic Lead Safeguarding and Adult Social Care explained that Thurrock had an MDS strategy and action plan in place, and helped train people on how to spot MDS and how to respond. She added that Thurrock were also part of the National Referral Mechanism (NRM), which helped identify victims of MDS and human trafficking, and offer them the appropriate support. She highlighted that in 2020/21 no adults had been referred through the NRM to Thurrock. The Youth Offending Operations Manager stated that four children had been referred through the NRM scheme, but these were due to criminal exploitation rather than MDS or human trafficking. She stated that Thurrock was best placed to understand how MDS and human trafficking could affect people, for example Thurrock had coped with the incident in October 2019 when 39 people had been found dead in a lorry in Purfleet, and had helped bring about criminal convictions for human trafficking for the perpetrators.  She added that following the tragic death of those 39 people, Thurrock had become part of Operation Melrose and Operation Bluebird, which were multiagency operations including the Council, police and Port Watch. She highlighted point 2.5 of the report which outlined the improvements that had been borne from these operations.

The Principal Social Worker and Strategic Lead Safeguarding and Adult Social Care then moved on and highlighted point 2.8 of the report, which outlined Thurrock’s Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) strategy. She outlined appendix 4 of the report which showed Thurrock’s Council’s new MDS Statement, and whilst not compulsory, was in line with government best practice. She stated that point 3.1 of the report highlighted the Local Government Association (LGA) guidance for Councillors dealing with MDS, including how to improve understanding and supporting victims. She stated that this was broken down into sections such as: identification; support; and disruption. She summarised and stated that the next steps for the team were carrying out an audit into Council staff understanding of MDS and trialling a newsletter for partners highlighting MDS.

Councillor Anderson highlighted point 2.5 on page 133 of the agenda, where the report highlighted that increased partnership working had been achieved through partner meetings. He queried how these meetings had increased communication. The Principal Social Worker and Strategic Lead Safeguarding and Adult Social Care replied that the meetings had been productive as different agencies had been able to meet and share intelligence. The Community Safety Partnership Manager added that the meetings brought together different agencies that, before Operation Melrose, did not usually meet, for example immigration, ports, and local police teams. She explained that these meetings helped identify local patterns in MDS and human trafficking, and targeted actions were put into place using joint operations and police officers who were dedicated to areas of potential MDS, such as the ports, certain local roads, and Moto services at Lakeside. She stated that these operations had led to both criminal charges and civil penalties, and had improved the risk management response to MDS and human trafficking, as well as improving the work of local immigration teams. Councillor Anderson felt it was good to hear that multiagency working was occurring. He added that the Nationality and Borders Bill was currently progressing through parliament, and asked if Thurrock had been invited to take part in the consultation process for this. The Strategic Lead Looked After Children and Aftercare replied that the consultation for this Bill had been surrounding Unaccompanied Asylum-Seeking Children (UASC) and similar prevalent issues in England. She stated that Thurrock had provided feedback as part of this consultation, which had highlighted the criminality aspects of trafficked young people, and the problems of some UASC presenting as younger than their real age.

Councillor Ralph thanked officers for their report and queried which MDS and human trafficking issues were specific to Thurrock, for example human trafficking for car washes. The Principal Social Worker and Strategic Lead Safeguarding and Adult Social Care explained that this report provided a high-level strategic overview as this was the first Committee meeting, but a report detailing specific Thurrock problems regarding MDS could be provided at a later meeting. She explained that the team were aware and involved with cases of human trafficking in places such as car washes, nail bars and takeaways. She added that the team were monitoring certain locations, had sent out notices, and were undertaking inspections when needed. Councillor Ralph then highlighted appendix 3 which covered VAWG, but did not specify MDS and human trafficking problems for men and boys, such as human trafficking for work in car washes and takeaways. The Community Safety Partnership Manager replied and explained that when the Modern Day Slavery and Human Trafficking strategy had been developed, it had been a standalone strategy, and it had been difficult to keep engagement and momentum with the action plan. She added that as Thurrock were a small authority, with a small team, there had not been the officer capacity to continue with this as a standalone strategy, so it had had to be moved under the VAWG umbrella. She understood that VAWG was only a small part of human trafficking, but appendix 3 covered all types of MDS, including violence against men and boys. The Principal Social Worker and Strategic Lead Safeguarding and Adult Social Care added that the action plan did include all genders, ages, and races, but she would take back the comment to the team. Councillor Ralph asked if the title could be changed to include violence against men and boys. The Community Safety Partnership Manager explained that VAWG was in line with and formed part of a national strategy. She explained that violence against men and boys was included in the strategy, which had been updated in October 2021 by the Home Office.

Councillor Abbas highlighted point 2.5 of the report and asked if the increased partnership working between organisations had had an impact on MDS, such as an increased number of prosecutions, or a reduction in the number of victims of MDS. The Principal Social Worker and Strategic Lead Safeguarding and Adult Social Care stated that this information would only be known by the police, but would need to remain confidential due to ongoing investigations. She stated that awareness of MDS and human trafficking had increased because of the partnership working, which had subsequently led to more training for appropriate partner colleagues.

The Chair queried how many people had been freed from MDS in the past 12 months. The Principal Social Worker and Strategic Lead Safeguarding and Adult Social Care replied that no adults had been referred through the NRM in 2020/21. The Chair then questioned how awareness had been raised, and if the Day of Anti-Slavery on 18 October 2021 had been publicised. The Community Safety Partnership Manager replied that the Day of Anti-Slavery had been publicised through social media this year, but last year a billboard and high street stall had been erected to highlight the signs of MDS and human trafficking, and encourage people to report any suspicious activity. She added that Thurrock had begun a local campaign in 2019 with Crimestoppers, but following the death of 39 people in Purfleet, this became a national campaign including the Home Office, which had focussed on lorry drivers and MDS, rather than community awareness. She explained that post-COVID the team were working on social media campaigns to highlight MDS and human trafficking to the local community.

Councillor Abbas then questioned what was meant by officers working towards a ‘hostile environment’ for the perpetrators of MDS and human trafficking in Thurrock. The Community Safety Partnership Manager responded that it meant Thurrock officers and other agencies were stopping people at the point of entry, thus ensuring that traffickers did not want to operate in Thurrock. The Principal Social Worker and Strategic Lead Safeguarding and Adult Social Care added that the Adult Safeguarding team were experienced in dealing with MDS and human trafficking, and could thoroughly investigate MDS concerns. She explained that in 2020/21 no referrals had been made through the NRM, but safeguarding cases were steadily increasing this year due to the reduction of COVID restrictions. The Strategic Lead Looked After Children and Aftercare added that the team would work to ensure victims of MDS and human trafficking were supported and not treated as criminals, for example they would not be arrested; would be provided with a social worker; and given homes where appropriate. She explained that Operation Melrose had increased the profile of MDS and human trafficking, and therefore made it more difficult for traffickers to operate in Thurrock and the wider Essex area.

Councillor Rigby questioned if more human trafficking cases were being seen due to the reduction of travel restrictions. The Principal Social Worker and Strategic Lead Safeguarding and Adult Social Care replied that during COVID the team had seen evidence of human trafficking and MDS going underground, as less people were coming through the border and more checks were being made. She stated that the team had seen increased examples of exploitation online, or the problem materialising in different ways, which had been discussed during a recent MDS summit held by the Prime Minister.

The Chair moved the debate onto appendix 4 of the report on page 191 of the agenda, and asked if Members had any comment on the draft MDS Statement. Councillor Ralph felt that it covered all of the necessary teams, for example social services, trading standards, and licensing. Councillor Okunade questioned who would be the reader of the statement. The Principal Social Worker and Strategic Lead Safeguarding and Adult Social Care replied that it would be the mission statement of the Council, and provided partners and the public with the Council’s statement of intent regarding MDS and human trafficking. Councillor Abbas queried if it was Thurrock Council’s responsibility to ensure businesses complied with the Statement, and if awareness would be raised with businesses and contractors. He also asked if the Statement would be reviewed annually. The Community Safety Partnership Manager replied that the Council needed to adopt the Statement first before going out to businesses. She added that it would be reviewed annually.

Councillor Rigby asked if violence against men and boys could be included in point 3 of the Statement, where violence against women and girls was discussed, to ensure men and boys were not excluded. The Community Safety Partnership Manager replied that the VAWG name could not be changed as it was a national strategy, but that men and boys would not be excluded. Councillor Rigby highlighted the Work Programme for December, and queried if the report on Violence against Men and Boys would be a discussion, rather than a strategy. The Community Safety Partnership Manager replied that Violence against Men and Boys was not a strategy, but could be a topic for discussion. Councillor Abbas asked if a paragraph, or wording, could be added to the statement to ensure men and boys were included. The Principal Social Worker and Strategic Lead Safeguarding and Adult Social Care replied that she would take this away for consideration. Councillor Anderson highlighted appendix 4 and felt it was good to see procurement processes being included as part of MDS, to ensure that slave labour would not be used to produce items used by Thurrock Council.

The Chair summarised and stated that the MDS Statement needed to look outward into the community, rather than looking inward at the work being undertaken by Thurrock Council. He felt that the current draft of the MDS Statement was passive, and wanted to see it become more active, for example by suggesting the boycott of businesses that used MDS and forced labour. He highlighted section three of the Statement and felt that violence against men and boys should be included alongside violence against women and girls. The Committee agreed that they could not support recommendation two until the necessary changes had been made to the Council’s MDS Statement. The Committee also agreed upon a quarterly report on MDS to ensure the Council were monitoring and fulfilling its MDS plans.

RESOLVED: That the Committee:

1. Scrutinised and assured themselves of the response to Modern Day Slavery (MDS) and human trafficking in Thurrock Council.

2. Agreed a quarterly report through the annual work plan for the monitoring of identified actions, to ensure that the Council fulfils its plans in relation to the Modern Day Slavery Act 2015.

The Principal Social Worker and Strategic Lead Safeguarding and Adult Social Care left the meeting at 7.57pm