Agenda item

[Karen Samuels,Head of Community Safety, to present report]

The Head of Community Safety presented a report on modern slavery.  The report provided an overview of the partnership working and the Council’s plans to tackle modern slavery across the City. Section 2 of the report outlined the framework in which the work on modern slavery was delivered, which followed a national framework.  There was an independent anti-slavery Commissioner and Legislation was introduced in 2015 under the name of the Modern Slavery Act.  Modern slavery could take on various different forms.  The legislation categorised them as holding a person in a position of slavery, forced servitude or compulsory labour, or facilitating the travel of a person with the intention of exploiting them soon after.  Within the West Midlands, forced Labour was a key area of focus and the exploitation of young people.  It was important to raise awareness about modern slavery as it was largely hidden within Wolverhampton. 

The Head of Community Safety stated that there was a national system for referring individuals experiencing modern slavery.  The contract on a national level was provided though the Salvation Army and in the West Midlands the sub-contractor was Black Country Women’s Aid.  The landscape was complex which led to some difficulties within the system.  As a consequence the Independent Commissioner was driving through changes at a national level.  The numbers identified in Wolverhampton were relatively small.  There were 11 cases of modern slavery submitted to the National Referral Mechanism from Wolverhampton from Jan – Dec 2017, compared to six cases the previous year, all cases were minors.  These cases involved links to county lines/drugs, child sexual exploitation and forced labour. 

The Head of Community Safety referred to section 3 of the report which identified the key points discussed at Scrutiny, when the subject was discussed at the meeting in September 2017.  Section 3 of the report provided an update on each of those areas.  A communication plan was now in place.  There was an aide memoir available to staff in the event they came across an individual of concern.  City of Wolverhampton’s Council’s plan was in line with that of the Police and a training offer was now available after the launch of the national package.  The Police had been developing their intelligence gathering processes around data capture.  The Black Country organised crime group had been established, which met bi-monthly to identify organised crime groups and co-ordinate tactics.  A discussion with Wolverhampton Businesses Crime reduction forum was scheduled to take place in September 2018 on the efforts to combat modern slavery.  The Head of Community Safety commented that the Local Government Association had issued some guidance in February 2018 which provided a summary of the implications for modern slavery for local authorities with practical suggestions as to strengthening working practices. 

A Member of the Panel asked for an update on the number of cases of modern slavery reported for the year to date.  Chief Inspector Packham stated that since November 2017 to the current date, there had been 19 reported crimes.  The Head of Community Safety said because modern slavery was often a hidden crime, the increase of crimes reported in this area could be seen as a positive step forward. The Council were looking to encourage all partners to report cases. 

A Panel Member raised an issue which had been reported in the national press release concerning hand car washes.  There were health and safety concerns for some of these staff and a concern that some workers were facing exploitation.  The Chief Inspector stated car washes and nail bars were particular occupations, where examples of modern slavery had been discovered in the past.  All neighbourhood Police teams visited these places to speak to the people there.  They tried to identify any concerns and investigate further with appropriate partners, such as Health and Safety, Environmental Services and Revenue and Customs.  A car wash recently visited in the Wolverhampton area had been found to be employing an illegal immigrant.  Due to the visits by the Police, a considerable amount of enforcement action was taking place.  The Head of Community Safety referred to an App which was now available to download which would advise if the car wash was operating in a legitimate way.  The Chair asked for the details of the App to be circulated to the Panel. 

A Member asked how the Police prioritised reports of crime.  The Chief Inspector stated the Police did have a system of prioritisation, with different teams responding to different reports of crime.  Priority on incoming calls was based on the threat, potential harm, vulnerability level and what enforcement action could be taken.  Sometimes there were national initiatives which meant a priority focus on a specific crime area. 

A Member of the Panel asked about what action was being taken over illegal use of housing.  In response the Head of Community Safety said they were liaising with the Council’s housing department. There were certainly issues with housing including, problems associated with multiple occupancy and rouge landlords.  The Chief Inspector commented that the Police often conducted visits to houses in multiple occupancy. 

The Procurement Officer stated the Council wanted to ensure that they were not using any expenditure on organisations or individuals which were involved with modern day slavery.  The procurement department had been working with Community Safety to strengthen the Council’s processes when selecting contractors.  All the members of the procurement team had undertaken the Council’s online training course and all of the team involved in direct procurement had completed the Chartered Institute for Procurement and Supplies Modern Day Slavery course.  They had also worked with the Council’s legal department to update and refresh the terms and conditions for contracts, to give increased powers if modern day slavery was discovered, such as termination of contracts or penalties.  These terms and conditions had also been cascaded down to subcontractors.  The onus had been put on the contractor to ensure that their supply chain was fully compliant. The next phase was to strengthen the tender process in higher risk areas such as construction, food and care.

A Member of the Panel asked about the relationships the Council had with schools and religious groups on the matter of modern day slavery.  In response, the Head of Community Safety said the Police would regularly engage with schools on matters of child sexual exploitation in addition to modern day slavery.  Children that were victims of modern day slavery would not necessarily be within the education system.  It was however important to raise awareness within schools.  There was robust engagement with the faith sector.  Some additional work was just commencing in the voluntary community sector.  A faith engagement worker had recently been employed through the Safeguarding Board.  They were working proactively to engage organisations to support the Council, such as within soup kitchens. 

Resolved: That the Head of Community Safety circulate details to the Panel of the App which is able to detail if a car wash is believed to be acting legitimately. 

Resolved: That the Head of Community Safety circulate the briefing note to the Panel which went to the Leader on the steps being taken to fight knife crime within Wolverhampton.