A major new report from the Council of Europe’s expert body on human trafficking has raised serious concerns about the state of anti-trafficking efforts in the United Kingdom, pointing to a significant increase in identified victims alongside persistent gaps in legal protection and support.
You can download the 112-pageΒ evaluation report here.
The report, produced by GRETA (the Group of Experts on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings) and covering the period from 2021 to late 2025, acknowledges progress made by UK authorities in identifying victims and strengthening enforcement mechanisms. However, it concludes that the country still falls short of meeting international standards in several key areas.
One of the most striking findings is the sharp rise in referrals to the UK’s National Referral Mechanism (NRM), the official system for identifying and supporting potential trafficking victims. The number of referrals climbed from 12,687 in 2021 to 17,390 in just the first nine months of 2025. British nationals made up the largest group of those referred, followed by individuals from Eritrea, Vietnam, and Albania. Despite this increase, the report raises concerns that the NRM has grown increasingly difficult to navigate. The threshold for proving victim status has risen considerably, and the process has taken on characteristics of a formal legal procedure, yet victims are frequently left without access to free legal assistance when engaging with it.
A significant portion of the report focuses on how recent changes to UK immigration law may be making traffickers’ work easier rather than harder. GRETA highlights that legislation such as the Nationality and Borders Act has raised the standard of proof required for asylum claims and contributed to lower approval rates. The expert body warns that the increased risk of detention and deportation is discouraging victims from coming forward and reporting exploitation, giving traffickers greater leverage over those they control. The report also flags that restrictions on access to public funds, limits on employment for asylum seekers, and inadequate financial support are pushing some vulnerable individuals toward informal and exploitative working arrangements. Accommodation practices, including the use of large hotels and temporary housing for asylum seekers, are also identified as factors that can increase risk rather than reduce it.
GRETA expresses direct concern about the chilling effect of current immigration policy on victim identification. The report references findings from the Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner published in May 2025, which revealed a growing number of potential victims refusing to consent to an NRM referral, citing fear of detention or deportation as the primary reason.
The report also examines the UK’s updated framework for granting leave to remain to confirmed trafficking victims. Those who receive a positive conclusive grounds decision may be granted up to 30 months of leave to remain to support their recovery, pursue compensation, or assist criminal investigations. However, GRETA finds that the eligibility criteria are narrower than required under international standards and do not fully account for the broader personal circumstances of victims as outlined in the Council of Europe convention. In practice, the number of residence permits actually granted remains very low relative to the number of confirmed victims. Processing times are often lengthy, permits are frequently too short to enable genuine recovery, and many applications are refused on the basis that support is available in the applicant’s country of origin. GRETA expresses particular concern about the extremely small number of child victims receiving residence permits and calls on the UK to ensure timely and renewable permits are provided in line with each individual’s circumstances and best interests.
Anti-Slavery International, responding to the report’s publication, noted that the findings confirm what many organisations working in this space have long argued: that policies increasing migrants’ fear of detention and deportation directly undermine efforts to identify and protect victims of trafficking, creating conditions that traffickers are known to exploit. The report calls on the UK government to review the cumulative impact of recent immigration legislation on trafficking risks and to introduce stronger safeguards to protect migrant populations from exploitation.
News Source: Electronic Immigration Network
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