The Home Office has released its end of year summary of National Referral Mechanism (‘NRM’) statistics for 2024.
In 2024 there were a total of 19,125 NRM referrals, a record number with a 13% increase from 2023 (17,004).
75% of UK national referrals made to the NRM in 2024 were children. In addition, there was a 21% increase in the number of women and girls referred into NRM compared to the previous year.
The most common nationality referred in 2024 were UK nationals, as with the previous year, with 4,441 UK nationals referred. Albanian nationals were the second most common nationality (2,492) with a 39% decrease since the previous year, followed by Vietnamese nationals (2,153) with a 118% increase since 2023.
The most common exploitation type in 2024 was labour exploitation, with 6,153 potential victims accounting for 32% of all referrals, the highest recorded number in a year since the NRM began. On the other hand, 48% of children’s referrals were for criminal exploitation. Exploitation types show gendered patterns, with males most often reporting labour exploitation (39%) and females most often reporting sexual exploitation (31%).
The average time taken to make conclusive grounds decisions was 637 days, compared to 526 days in the previous year.
Southwell and Partners specialises in advice on Modern Slavery law, and representing victims and potential victims of modern slavery.
You can access the full report detailing the statistics referred to above by visiting here.
