2. What action is the Welsh Government taking to prevent modern slavery and human trafficking? OQ55510

Through working with partner organisations across the UK, our delivery of awareness raising, accredited training, and through improved intelligence gathering to support criminal investigations and support for victims, the Welsh Government is at the forefront of the fight against these appalling crimes. 

Thank you, Deputy Minister. The anti-slavery charity, Unseen UK, has warned that, due to the economic downturn due to the current crisis, we are likely to see an increase in human trafficking—the two things normally going hand in hand. Will the Deputy Minister assure me that she will take action to try and prevent this, to raise awareness of and recognition of the signs of modern slavery?

I would thank again the Member for that additional question, because it is vital that we recognise that this can be an issue in terms of the adverse impact of COVID-19, which could lead to an increase in trafficking. What's very important—. As I've said, it's about co-ordinated action. The response to slavery in Wales was bolstered, as, of course, we know, by the appointment of the Welsh Government anti-slavery co-ordinator, who's working actively with key agencies to determine scale, types and location of slavery in Wales, but also improving that intelligence and recording of incidents in Wales, very much working with the UK Government using the national referral mechanism and looking at that in terms of the impact of COVID-19.

Further to the previous question, we're seeing data published in June showing that, for the first time, Minister, since 2016, the reports of suspected modern slavery in the UK were down by 14 per cent, and this is raising the worry that it's actually that victims are being pushed further out of sight and away from seeking help. So, can I ask our Welsh Government to make formal representations to UK Ministers, to first of all give the Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority the resources to do their job, as they are at full stretch already, and also to urge UK Ministers to speed up the national referral mechanisms for victims to access care from housing and healthcare to legal aid, because this is a process that can currently take from six weeks to, indeed, several years? Thank you, Minister.

Thank you to Huw Irranca-Davies. Following on that important point about the impact of the pandemic, and just to add to the points that I made earlier on, we are continuing to work with our partners in the National Crime Agency, police, Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority, but also including all those non-governmental organisations and charities, such as BAWSO, New Pathways and Barnardo's in Wales, raising awareness of slavery, dealing with any incidents that are reported, rescuing and supporting victims where possible. And I think the interesting issue is that reports across Wales have remained consistent. We're in regular contact with the Home Office modern slavery unit, and they are actually now reviewing the national referral mechanism process. And I think your point about access to legal aid is crucial. And we have to recognise, of course, that modern slavery is a reserved matter, and the Home Office will be, obviously, crucially important to take these messages back in terms of the impact of the pandemic, so that we can be aware of and tackle trafficking.

As the Chamber will know, I have raised these issues a number of times since being elected to the Senedd. Yet despite the many calls from across the Chamber to investigate the practices employed in particular in car washes, there appears to be absolutely no action taken with regard to these establishments. This is particularly disappointing given that a number of issues are present with regard to their operation—the long hours served by attendants, often 10 hours a day, seven days a week; the low pay, said to be around £3 per hour; the sub-standard accommodation for these workers; the propensity for money laundering, given that all transactions appear to be cash, often to many thousands of pounds per week; the low pay, said to be around—sorry, to the environmental issues, with the considerable volumes of effluent generated at these sites going directly into water drainage systems and hence the rivers; but, of course, worst of all, the clear exploitation of people working on these sites. One has to ask, Deputy Minister, why nothing has been done to investigate or even close these operations, although they have been in existence for over a decade.

Well, I will acknowledge that David Rowlands has mentioned this more than once in this Chamber. I'd just like to briefly, in terms of employment, refer to the ethical employment in supply chains code of practice, which was launched in 2017, aimed at making supply chains transparent, but also preventing exploitation of workers. And it was actually a first for Wales and the UK, and over 200 organisations have signed up to the code of practice, with the majority of Welsh public sector bodies signed up too. But I would also like to pay tribute to Joyce Watson with her cross-party group on human trafficking, if I don't get the opportunity again this afternoon. 

Minister, acts of modern slavery are becoming a scary reality for the many and this crime is often very difficult to spot. One simple question from me: the Home Office have got a real part to play in this, but what can the Welsh Government do to stop this being a hidden crime?

Well, until recently, I would say that slavery was a hidden crime. It's still under-reported and these questions and concerns have been raised this afternoon. And that's why we introduced new data collection systems in Wales and we continue to work with partners to develop that better evidence base—Huw Irranca-Davies referred to that as well—that more accurately reflects the level of slavery in Wales so that we can tackle it.