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Official Statistics

Additional statistics relating to modern slavery (October 2025)

Published 14 October 2025

© Crown copyright 2025

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This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/additional-statistics-relating-to-modern-slavery-october-2025/additional-statistics-relating-to-modern-slavery-october-2025

This ad hoc statistical release provides an update with the latest available Home Office data as of 30 September 2025. It is being published to enable the Minister for Safeguarding and Violence Against Women and Girls to draw on the latest conclusive grounds statistics in discussion with stakeholders at a forthcoming Modern Slavery Roundtable.

Comprehensive data on National Referral Mechanism (NRM) referrals and decisions are published by the Home Office quarterly and annually. The next quarterly and annual release will be published on 6 November 2025.

The data published here has been extracted from live operational databases. It is therefore provisional and may differ from other statistics published subsequently.

The provisional data shows that as of 30 September 2025 there were:

  • 9,107 cases were awaiting a conclusive grounds decision having been issued a positive reasonable grounds decision; this is a 55% decrease compared to 30 September 2024 (from 20,111) and a 69% decrease from the peak of 29,275 recorded at the end of quarter 4, October to December 2022

  • 8,650 cases awaiting conclusive grounds decisions had been referred to the Single Competent Authority (SCA); this is a 57% decrease compared to 30 September 2024 (from 19,939) and a 67% decrease from the peak of 25,934 recorded at the end of quarter 3, July to September 2022

  • 457 cases awaiting conclusive grounds decisions had been referred to the Immigration Enforcement Competent Authority (IECA); this is a 166% increase compared to 30 September 2024 (from 172), but an 86% decrease from the peak of 3,451 recorded at the end of quarter 4, October to December 2022

Given the quarterly variance in the average time to decision, the average (median) age of all cases awaiting conclusive grounds decisions is a more accurate reflection of wait times. As of 30 September 2025:

  • the average age of cases awaiting a conclusive grounds decision was 141 days, a decrease of 80% (576 days) when compared to the total of 717 days on 30 September 2024

  • the average age of SCA cases in the system awaiting a conclusive grounds decision was 151 days, a decrease of 79% (569 days) when compared to the total of 720 days on 30 September 2024

  • the average age of IECA cases in the system awaiting a conclusive grounds decision was 46 days, a decrease of 93% (652 days) when compared to the total of 698 days on 30 September 2024

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