Part of 2. 2. Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Communities and Children – in the Senedd at 3:00 pm on 18 October 2017.
Yesterday, we had a round-table meeting, and the room was full of experts in the field of ending human trafficking or slavery in Wales. One of the issues that came up time and time again was the 45 days in which victims have to prove their case and get through the national referral mechanism—NRM—and the wish to make that a much longer period, a minimum of 60 days. I know that those powers rest with the UK Government, Cabinet Secretary, but there is a clear request from all the experts in Wales for you to ask the UK Government to consider expanding that, because it isn’t until individuals get through the national referral mechanism that they’re offered any help or support whatsoever. It’s left to the non-government organisations to offer any shelter, any help, any support whatsoever after those 45 days.