Several pieces of new and upcoming legislation were announced in the King’s Speech last month. In this blog, we unpack what the UK Government has said it will do, what this means for victims and survivors of human trafficking, and what we hope to see.
Whilst there are some areas of concern and we do not yet have all the details, the proposed bills present an important opportunity to strengthen the UK’s response to modern slavery and human trafficking. This includes improving protections for survivors and ensuring businesses take meaningful action to address exploitation within their supply chains.
We have sent a formal briefing to MPs, calling on them to table amendments to strengthen protections for survivors and people at risk of exploitation, to highlight issues that hinder survivors’ recovery within debates, and to urge Government to develop legislation with the involvement of people with lived and learned experiences of exploitation.
Below, we outline the key opportunities we anticipate within five specific bills.
Immigration and Asylum Bill
As part of the proposed reforms to this Bill, the UK Government intends to:
Survivors are now expected to give evidence if they do not disclose information about their exploitation at the earliest possible opportunity. We are concerned that this will continue the negative trend of increasing the barriers that survivors face to accessing protection. Recent changes to the Home Office’s statutory guidance made clear that an individual’s credibility will in part be determined by how soon they disclose. This is despite it being widely recognised, including within that same Home Office guidance, that trauma (amongst other factors) may affect an individual’s ability or willingness to share their experience of exploitation with state authorities.
The hostile narrative of ‘potential misuse’ of the system also lacks evidence. The Home Office’s own figures show that in 2025, of 23,411 potential victims of modern slavery, only six people were disqualified on the grounds their claims were made in ‘bad faith’ – the equivalent of just 0.2% of cases.
In our experience of working with survivors for more than 16 years, we have seen that many people face significant barriers to entering the National Referral Mechanism (NRM) – the system intended to safeguard them and support their recovery.
We want to ensure this legislation does not hinder survivors’ access to services that are essential for their long-term recovery. We hope this legislation can, instead, strengthen survivor rights and protections.
European Partnership Bill
This Bill will provide the legal framework to adopt and implement agreements with the EU, including “powers to fulfil treaty obligations in the agreements with the EU where it serves the national interest”.
We recommend that there is greater alignment with the EU on protecting workers from exploitation within business supply chains. For example, incorporating the EU’s Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive and introducing Mandatory Environmental and Human Rights Due Diligence.
The Bill also presents an opportunity to align with the EU Directives on Human Trafficking and direct incorporation of the Council of Europe’s Convention on Action against Trafficking (ECAT). Human trafficking often crosses borders and these steps would strengthen the approach to tackling the issue both nationally and internationally.
We hope that the Government take this opportunity to establish Mandatory Environmental and Human Rights Due Diligence requirements for businesses, align with EU Directives on Human Trafficking and directly incorporate ECAT.
Police Reform Bill
As well as facilitating the re-structuring of policing across England and Wales, the Bill will set out clear national priorities to “give policing clarity on core priorities [and] align policing towards a single vision”.
In recent years, modern slavery has been de-prioritised, including within policing, seen in the closure of the Modern Slavery and Organised Immigration Crime Unit in April 2026.
Despite the increase in the number of potential victims of modern slavery being referred into the NRM, the number of prosecutions remains relatively low. As of June 2024, police across the UK were dealing with at least 2,497 modern slavery and human trafficking investigations, but between July 2023 and June 2024, there were only 467 prosecutions for modern slavery crimes in England and Wales. A recent report highlights that the proportion of prosecutions to National Referral Mechanism referrals is just 1.8% (so, for every 1,000 potential victims of modern slavery or human trafficking identified and referred to the Home Office, only about 18 result in a prosecution).
The Government must treat modern slavery as a core policing priority, a serious human rights violation and an economic crime that impacts national security. We call for more emphasis and resource for financial investigations into modern slavery offences, which would take pressure off survivors providing evidence during the investigation and prosecution of their traffickers. The proceeds of crime could then be used to compensate survivors and to resource the response to modern slavery.
Survivors who have been coerced or forced to commit crimes, under duress, whilst in exploitation, and who are then convicted, face huge barriers to overturn their convictions. The Bill is an opportunity to ensure that a positive ‘conclusive grounds’ (final) decision under the NRM – which formally recognises someone as a victim of modern slavery – initiates a process for victims with a criminal conviction connected to their exploitation can have that conviction erased.
We hope that the Government takes this opportunity to restate its commitment to tackling modern slavery and ensuring it is once again a national policing priority. We also hope that this Bill strengthens access to justice for survivors by creating a clear process for expunging past convictions.
Courts Modernisation Bill
This bill will remove jury trials for all but the most serious offences, including modern slavery and human trafficking. We are, however, concerned that this reform may impact upon victims who are prosecuted for crimes committed as part of their exploitation and not receive the protection of trial by jury. Criminal exploitation is common throughout the UK, and many victims are not identified but instead subject to prosecution for crimes they were compelled to commit. This is despite the Modern Slavery Act 2015 containing a defence against prosecution for offences linked to exploitation.
We want to highlight the importance of ensuring that survivors are protected from prosecution for offences linked to their exploitation, and that when prosecution does proceed they should be entitled to a trial by jury.
Social Housing Renewal Bill
The Social Housing Bill has been published. It provides greater protection for tenants who are victims of domestic abuse by providing them with more security and stability.
Research shows that people who experience housing insecurity, homelessness, unsuitable accommodation, displacement or extreme poverty are at increased risk of modern slavery. These problems can also result from exploitation, such as when there is no long-term access to safe housing after being identified through the NRM. In our experience, having a suitable, stable and safe home is a key part of a survivor’s recovery. When this is not available, it can harm their mental health, increase the risk of poverty and homelessness, and put them at much higher risk of being re-trafficking or exploited.
We want to see improved access to housing for survivors of modern slavery. This goes hand in hand with repealing criminalisation of those who are homeless and rough sleeping.
