A law is to be tabled in parliament aiming to force the appointment of an anti-slavery watchdog, after the government left the post vacant while planning to make it harder for victims to gain support.
There has been no Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner since April 2022, and following an unexplained eight-month delay to the appointment Suella Braverman has scrapped the recruitment process.
The home secretary has committed to running a new competition, but no job advert is yet online.
It comes as the government draws up new laws targeting Channel migrants after Rishi Sunak vowed to “significantly raise the threshold someone must meet to be considered a modern slave”.
A bill being tabled by the Liberal Democrats on Thursday would introduce safeguards by giving parliament the power to appoint an Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner if the post is left vacant for three months or more.
The party’s home affairs spokesperson, Alistair Carmichael, said change was necessary after “months of Conservative inaction”.
“Yet again, the Conservative’s dithering, delay and broken promises are letting vulnerable people down,” he added.
“By refusing to appoint a new anti-slavery commissioner while cases soar, this government is shutting down scrutiny. It’s a deeply cynical move as they act to weaken protections for modern slavery victims at the very same time.”
Mr Carmichael said it was “time for parliament to take matters into its own hands and appoint a new commissioner without delay”.
The legislation is being introduced as a presentation bill, which is a mechanism unlikely to succeed in becoming law but used as a way of drawing attention to issues requiring change. MPs will not be formally required to debate the bill or vote on it.
It comes as Home Office statistics show a rise in the number of potential modern slavery victims referred for support by official bodies, rising by over a third year-on-year.
The home secretary has accused small boat migrants identified as possible trafficking victims of “gaming the system”, but the statistics watchdog said the available evidence did not support her claims.
Dame Sara Thornton, who was the Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner until April 2022, has accused the government of “exaggerating” abuse claims and undermining protections for modern slavery victims.
She told The Independent the vacancy means the watchdog has “no power and no voice”, warning: “We lack that independent objective voice which is so necessary in the heat of political debate.
“A commissioner should be giving evidence to parliament, speaking to officials, speaking to ministers and keeping their announcements, their policy and prospective bills under scrutiny.”
A statement by the IASC office following her departure said that without a commissioner, staff engaging with the government “will have no remit to provide views or take on or contribute to new work”.
The watchdog was created by Theresa May’s 2015 Modern Slavery Act, which states that the home secretary “must appoint a person as the Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner”.
Their role is to monitor the prevention, detection, investigation and prosecution of slavery and human trafficking offences, while making official recommendations to the government and public authorities.
The previous recruitment process started in December 2021, with the government public appointments website saying that interviews were conducted last April.
The Home Office maintained that a final decision on the appointment remained “under consideration” until Sunday, when it issued a new statement saying: “The home secretary recognises the importance of the role of Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner (IASC), and has committed to running a new open competition to recruit for this role.“
The recruitment of the previous slavery watchdog took six months, suggesting that a successor will not be in post until the summer – after the government brings forward laws changing the treatment of small boat migrants.
A Home Office spokesperson said: “The UK has led the world in protecting victims of modern slavery and we will continue to identify and support those who have suffered intolerable abuse at the hands of criminals and traffickers.”
They said the Modern Slavery Act gave the home secretary responsibility for appointing a commissioner, following consultation with the Scottish government and Northern Ireland executive, and that the process would be run in accordance with the governance code for public appointments.
