South Tyneside Council bosses reinforce commitment to protect people from modern slavery

Council chiefs in South Tyneside have reinforced their commitment to help protect people from “horrendous” modern slavery and human trafficking.

The term modern slavery covers offences in the Modern Slavery Act (2015) which result in the deprivation of a person’s liberty, by another, to exploit them for personal or commercial gain.

This can include debt bondage, human trafficking, forced labour and people being traded as a property or commodity, as well as employers ‘owning’ employees.

Each year, South Tyneside Council is legally required to update and publish its Modern Slavery Transparency Statement.

This sets out work carried out over the past year to minimise the risks of modern slavery in the authority, its supply chains and in the community.

The latest meeting of full council, on Thursday, September 5, agreed to endorse the updated document for 2023/24.

Speaking at the meeting, Labour’s councillor Jane Carter, lead member for governance, finance and corporate services, said it is “extremely important” the council does “everything we can” to reduce the risks of modern slavery.

The deputy council leader added: “We don’t like to think that there may be modern slavery taking place behind closed doors in our own communities and neighbourhoods.

“But we know that there have been a number of recent cases identified in our region, so sadly there is a very real chance that this horrendous crime could even be happening unnoticed as we speak in South Tyneside.

“It is so important that we do everything we can to ensure that we can protect and support victims and make it as hard as possible for criminals to get away with this horrendous crime.”

She added work over the past year has included ensuring adult and children’s social care, regulatory services, safeguarding and housing teams are all knowledgeable and able to provide support should cases be identified locally.

A “great deal” of work has also been done to raise awareness with wider staff and partners, including sharing information and resources, engaging with those in high-risk sectors, and carrying out training.

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Councillor Phil Brown, independent representative in the Horsley Hill ward, also raised concerns over the issue and endorsed the topic being raised.

He said: “Much of this is within plain sight and knowledge, and I have come across examples in South Tyneside recently.

“I was astonished, these items are in plain sight, it’s as simple as that.”

The meeting heard latest estimates suggest there are “tens of millions of victims currently being exploited across the globe, including approximately 122,000 people within the UK”.

In May 2019, South Tyneside Council became one of the first in the country to develop a comprehensive Modern Slavery Strategy, outlining how it will identify, prevent and tackle the issue of modern slavery, human trafficking and exploitation in the borough.

The annually reviewed statement aligns with the borough’s 2022-24 strategy and its five key action areas: identify, respond, disrupt, prevent and engage.