Modern slavery is a new area of focus for the Safe in the City Partnership, although some work has been carried out to raise awareness among frontline services whose roles take them into scenarios where modern slavery may be encountered.
Central government is paying increasing attention to this issue and the Modern Slavery Bill is likely to come into force in 2014, providing a legislative framework for the prosecution of perpetrators and other structures are being formulated at a national level. It is not yet clear how national changes will impact locally, but we must be flexible and be able to respond locally as necessary.