Following Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's announcement earlier this week on plans to address immigration, Barnardo's has expressed its views over what this could mean for children and young people.
Lynn Perry MBE, Barnardo’s CEO said: “Barnardo’s supports Albanian children who have often been exploited in countries en route to the UK and also once they’ve arrived in the country. We believe the Government must seriously consider the welfare of children as part of any changes to the Modern Slavery Act and current immigration legislation.
“Over a third of cases to the National Referral Mechanism are children who have been identified as potential victims of modern slavery, and therefore need urgent support. Increasing the threshold to be considered a modern slave, without the necessary protections for children, could risk sending under-18s back into the arms of traffickers and exploiters.”
Find out more about our work to help and support trafficked children here.