Government needs to do more to tackle '˜scourge' of modern slavery, MPs say

A report by the public accounts committee claims the government doesn’t know how much money it spends on tackling the crime or how successful the effort has been.

The group claims the government does not yet have the data or systems to understand the crimes, demographics and circumstances of the victims and perpetrators

Potential victims are being forced to wait for too long to have their claims dealt with.

Stephen Morgan, Portsmouth South’s Labour MP, is part of the cross-party group.

He said: ‘Despite the government’s good intentions, they’ve so far largely failed to deliver for victims of modern slavery.

‘The fact is, the department still don’t have adequate systems in place to accurately measure or comprehend this abhorrent crime.’

Meg Hillier, chairman of the committee, said the government needed to ‘get a grip on what works and what doesn’t’.

She added: ‘Victims of modern slavery can face unimaginable horrors but the government’s good intentions have yet to result in coherent action to help them.

‘This crime is complex and a piecemeal approach will not cut it.’