Research and analysis

Modern slavery referrals for people detained for return after arriving in the UK on small boats

Published 7 March 2023

1. Summary

The number of people arriving in the UK irregularly on small boats has increased every year since this route became common in 2018 and 2019. Simultaneously, the number of people referred to the National Referral Mechanism (NRM) as potential victims of modern slavery has also increased steadily, and both of these rises are putting the relevant government systems under pressure.

This report looks at how many people were referred to the NRM after arriving in the UK on a small boat, specifically focusing on those who were detained for return, to help understand the relationship between these events.

In summary:

Where people were detained for return after arriving on a small boat, nearly three-quarters were referred as potential victims of modern slavery in 2021, and two-thirds between January and September 2022. This compares with less than 3% of people who arrived in 2021 being referred to the NRM within 3 months where they were not detained for return.

Almost everyone referred to the NRM while awaiting return was subsequently released from detention. Up to 2021, the vast majority of people were released proactively by the Home Office, but in 2022 over half were granted bail by an immigration judge.

2. Analysis

2.1. People referred to the NRM after arriving in the UK on small boats and being detained for return

The number of people known to have arrived in the UK irregularly on small boats has increased from around 300 in 2018, to over 45,000 in 2022.^{[footnote 1]}

Where people were detained for return after arriving on a small boat, there has been a clear increase in the proportion who were then referred to the NRM as potential victims of modern slavery while in detention. Just 6% of detentions ending in 2019 involved a referral, rising to 53% in 2020, and to 73% in 2021. The referral rate has since fallen slightly, to 65% for detentions ending between January and September 2022.^{[footnote 2]}

Figure 1: Proportion of people who were referred to the NRM after being detained for return following arrival on a small boat, by year

In contrast, where people were not detained for return, less than 3% of people who arrived in 2021 were referred to the NRM within 3 months of entering the UK.^{[footnote 3]}

Detentions for the purpose of return generally fall into one of six categories. These are for people who:

• claimed asylum and were detained for return to a safe third country that they had travelled through on their way to the UK (under the EU Dublin III Regulation up to December 2020, and ad hoc arrangements subsequently)
• claimed asylum, and were detained for relocation to Rwanda under the Migration and Economic Development Partnership(MEDP), where their application was considered inadmissible to the UK asylum system (2022 only)
• claimed asylum, and whose applications were considered as detained asylum cases (DAC) with the person remaining in detention throughout the asylum process, and return then pursued if their application was unsuccessful
• claimed asylum, were refused, and were then detained at a later point as failed asylum seekers for return to their home country
• did not claim asylum, and were detained for return to their home country
• were convicted of a criminal offence, and were detained for deportation or administrative removal to their home country as foreign national offenders (FNOs).

The number of people detained in each of these categories has varied greatly over the last 4 years as shown in figure 2.^{[footnote 4]}Therefore, overall referral rates are not directly comparable, as the number of people detained in each category peaks at different points in time.

However, referral rates for detentions ending between January and September 2022 are well over 50% for most categories. The exception is FNOs, where only around one in five people were referred to the NRM over the whole period, though FNOs account for a very small proportion of people detained for return after arriving on small boats.

Figure 2: Number of people detained for return after arriving on a small boat, and number of those referred to the NRM while in detention, by category^{[footnote 5]}, by month

Two-thirds of people detained for return since 2021 after arriving on small boats were Albanian nationals – more than 7 in 10 of whom were then referred to the NRM after being detained. Referral rates were even higher for Vietnamese nationals – the second most prominent nationality – with more than three-quarters of people referred to the NRM while in detention. The vast majority of people detained for return were male, and between the ages of 18 and 49.

Figure 3: NRM referral rates by nationality, gender and age^{[footnote 6]}, for people detained for return after arriving on small boats

2.2. Outcomes following NRM referrals in detention

The vast majority of people referred to the NRM while detained for return received a positive ‘reasonable grounds’ decision (92%)^{[footnote 7]}. This initiates a 45-day ‘recovery and reflection period’ during which the person is protected from removal^{[footnote 8]}. As a result almost everyone referred to the NRM was subsequently released from detention (99.5%), including most people who received a negative ‘reasonable grounds’ decision due to other issues preventing their return.

Up to 2021, at least 80% of people who were referred to the NRM while in detention were released proactively by the Home Office, without being required to do so by an immigration judge. However, this changed in 2022, with over half of releases coming about following a successful bail application to an immigration judge.

Figure 4: Outcomes of detentions involving an NRM referral, for people arriving on small boats, by year

3. About the data

All statistics in this report are taken from internal management information, as of 1 December 2022.

Further statistics on detention and returns are available in the immigration statistics quarterly release. Further statistics regarding people arriving in the UK on small boats are available in the irregular migration to the UK quarterly release. The Home Office publishes further statistics on referrals for potential victims of modern slavery. The latest statistics for 2022 show the broader picture that Albanian nationals are now the most prevalent nationality overall, and the number of adult males being referred is increasing. Referrals where Immigration Enforcement was the first responder have more than doubled from around 1,500 in 2020 to 3,500 in 2022^{[footnote 2]}

4. Data tables

Table 1a: Detentions and NRM referrals, by year of detention exit

	2019	2020	2021	Jan to Sep 2022
Number of people detained for return after arriving in the UK on a small boat	831	982	404	1,305
Of whom, were referred to the NRM while in detention	50	520	294	842
Of whom, received a positive ‘reasonable grounds’ decision	36	475	279	780

Table 1b: Detention outcomes following an NRM referral, by year of detention exit

	2019	2020	2021	Jan to Sep 2022
Number of people referred to the NRM while detained for return after arriving in the UK on a small boat	50	520	294	842
Of whom, were returned from the UK	1	5	0	3
Of whom, were released on bail proactively by the Home Office	47	479	235	258
Of whom, were released following a granted bail application to the Secretary of State	1	14	18	15
Of whom, were granted bail by an immigration judge	0	16	35	487
Of whom, applied for bail but no outcome is yet recorded on Home Office systems	1	6	6	79

Table 2a: Detentions, by year of detention exit and by detention category

	2019	2020	2021	Jan to Sep 2022
Number of people detained for return after arriving in the UK on a small boat	831	982	404	1,305
Of whom, detained for third country return (including MEDP)	671	908	8	496
Of whom, detained under DAC	0	6	352	549
Of whom, detained under Core National Returns Command[footnote 10]	158	61	12	205
Of whom, detained under FNO Returns Command	2	7	32	55

Table 2b: NRM referrals from detention, by year of detention exit and by detention category

	2019	2020	2021	Jan to Sep 2022
Number of people referred to the NRM while detained for return after arriving in the UK on a small boat	50	520	294	842
Of whom, detained for third country return (including MEDP)	17	492	4	321
Of whom, detained under DAC	0	6	277	401
Of whom, detained under Core National Returns Command[footnote 10]	33	21	3	111
Of whom, detained under FNO Returns Command	0	1	10	9

1. Irregular migration to the UK statistics ↩

2. For context , these NRM referrals for people detained for return after arriving on small boats accounted for 5% of total NRM referrals in 2020, 2% in 2021, and 7% in January to September 2022. ↩ ↩²

3. However, most people who were referred to the NRM after arriving on a small boat were not in detention awaiting return. While only a small fraction of people who were not detained for return were referred, this was a small fraction of a much greater number. This works out at slightly more than the number of referrals of people who were detained for return. ↩

4. Due to factors such as the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the UKs departure from the EU and the creation of the Nationality and Borders Act 2022. ↩

5. Third Country and MEDP detentions cannot be differentiated easily in the data used for this analysis, so are presented as a single graph. However all detentions in up to 2021 were Third Country Returns, and the vast majority of detentions in 2022 were MEDP. ↩

6. In some cases an individual may be detained as an adult but subsequently found to be a child (such as in an age dispute case). Such people will show as ‘Under 18’ here, since the data used in this report will be the updated date of birth rather than the date of birth recorded when they entered detention. ↩

7. Most people in this analysis are yet to receive a ‘conclusive grounds’ decision. ↩

8. This was reduced to 30 days in late 2022, in line with the minimum period set out in the Council of Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings. ↩

9. Includes non-asylum seekers and failed asylum seekers ↩ ↩²