3. What measures will the Cabinet Secretary take to combat modern slavery in the next 12 months? (OAQ51004)

Thank you. We are committed to continuing working with police and crime commissioners and other partners in continuing to tackle slavery here in Wales.

Thank you for that answer, Minister. Modern slavery in Wales is on the rise. In 2015, there were 134 referrals of potential victims of slavery. This showed an increase of over 91 per cent on the previous year. However, the real figure is likely to be much higher due to the secrecy and the tight control that the perpetrators have on their victims. Cabinet Secretary, what further measures does the Welsh Government intend to take to increase awareness of modern slavery and to ensure local authorities, public bodies, and voluntary organisations are able to recognise the signs that someone could be a victim of modern slavery in Wales?

Let’s look at the Member’s question carefully, and, actually, we could consider this to be somewhat of a success here in Wales, where we are identifying the issues around slavery and capturing the slave drivers and prosecuting them, and that’s absolutely the thing we should do. That’s why there’s been, I believe, an increase in identification of this. We are the only country in the UK to appoint an anti-slavery co-ordinator, and we were the first in the UK to do that. I would encourage other parts of the UK to actively seek to appoint an anti-slavery co-ordinator because, as a country, we can deliver on this much better. The Member is right about making sure that key agencies, key workers, can identify early on where people are thought to be enslaved and that our intelligence agencies and support phone numbers are available for individuals to report that, if they are to be identified by individuals.

Until very recent times, slave labour was virtually unknown in the UK. Is it therefore true to say, Cabinet Secretary, that slave labour is the direct result of uncontrolled mass immigration? The sexual exploitation of women and children has dramatically increased over the last two decades—almost all controlled by immigrant gangs, exploiting immigrant workers. Does the Cabinet Secretary not agree that virtually non-existent border controls, brought about by free movement of people, has hugely exacerbated this truly evil manifestation in our country?

Well, I can’t think of a word that the Member uttered there that I agree with him on. The fact of the matter is that this hasn’t been a hidden crime—slavery has been around for hundreds of years, and it was the British empire that started a lot of this off in the first place, and we should be the ones now stopping the whole issue of this. That’s why we have appointed an anti-slavery co-ordinator. I don’t think that mass immigration, as the Member talked about, has anything to do with the slavery we see today. In fact, I don’t even acknowledge the Member’s views in the fact that we have uncontrolled mass immigration; the Member is wrong to suggest that.