According to this BBC News report and our weekend papers Theresa May is to introduce a new piece of legislation during the current session of Parliament which will provide tougher sanctions to tackle modern-day slavery in the UK. This news is very welcome and will be something that the various trafficking groups such as Stop The Traffik will be delighted to read about, particularly bearing in mind that this bill was not part of the Queens Speech. That legislative time will be found to focus on this appalling crime is really good news, yet the sanctions currently proposed do not look very comprehensive or as effective as might be hoped for. Let us hope that Ms May takes the time to invite a wide range of anti-trafficking organisations to advise her and the civil servants who will draft the Bill. As Yvette Cooper has stated in her response to this news, it is vital that provision is made for those who are victims of trafficking as well as for these more modest provisions for those involved in this evil trade. As far as the news report is concerned, the sanctions being proposed are:

• Trafficking prevention orders, to prevent a person convicted of a trafficking offence from gaining a Gangmaster Licensing Authority membership, place restrictions on their ability to own a company, visit certain places or work with children or young women
• Seek a commitment from companies not to use slave labour
• Create the role of modern slavery commissioner, who would hold law enforcement and government bodies to account

With the exception of the creation of the slavery commissioner these sanctions are not substantial nor do they appear to need primary legislation. The commissioner if legislated for would be something different, however there are many vested interests and other potential conflicting lines of accountability which will make this very difficult to achieve.

The slavery legislation was not something that the Government had included in the Queens Speech in May even though David Cameron spoke about the issue at an exhibition on the theme of trafficking at the House of Commons in April when he said “Modern day slavery comes in many forms, in many ways, and we have to have a really concerted approach to crush it, to stamp it out and to make sure that we look at the rights of those who are affected and take a criminal approach to those who are the traffickers and above all call it what it is: slavery.”

It is not clear why this decision has been taken now, according to Teresa May in the report on Sunday “It has been a profound shock to discover the extent to which slavery has reappeared in our country,” This implies a degree of urgency and surprise. Yet only a few weeks ago Peter Bone MP was claiming that the ‘go home’ vans were intended to deal with trafficking, something that I wrote about. According to this report in the Guardian from last October, the Metropolitan Police Anti-Trafficking was thought to be under threat due to funding pressures. Further back in September 2010, three months after arriving at No 10 Theresa May along with David Cameron was challenged by Labour Politicians and Church leaders for their reluctance in signing a European directive on trafficking. The modern campaign to address Trafficking has a number of origins but can certainly be traced back to the middle of the last decade when charities and churches were beginning to plan the celebrations for the bi-centenary of the abolition of transatlantic slavery in 2007.

Whilst it is certainly possible for the early days of this activity to have taken place out of sight of Parliamentarians who were busy preparing for elections or holding the Government to account, it is very concerning that our Political system is so disconnected from the work of charities and campaigning organisations today. Dealing with Trafficking is vital and this decision to open up the legislative processes could have a significant impact on these terrible activities. However the shock that Theresa May is feeling now, should have impacted many decisions over the last 3 years. It is fantastic that we are finally going to get some Parliamentary focus on this issue, let us hope that it lives up to the expectations of those who have been campaigning about this issue for nearly a decade and that their experience helps to inform this new law.