News

Duncan Lewis Solicitors has successfully challenged the Home Office's unpublished policy of not providing accommodation under the Modern Slavery Victim Care Contract to trafficking victims subject to Electronic Monitoring immigration bail conditions in judicial review proceedings.

The Home Office initially refused to accommodate the Claimant, PER, who was facing imminent homelessness, due to her Electronic Monitoring condition. This was despite the fact that she had been recognised as a potential victim of trafficking and had been assessed by her support worker as urgently requiring accommodation. Further to Duncan Lewis filing judicial review proceedings, including an urgent application for interim relief, the Home Office agreed to provide the Claimant with Modern Slavery Victim Care Contract accommodation.

In judicial review proceedings, Duncan Lewis argued that the failure to provide PER with accommodation under the Modern Slavery Victim Care Contract was unreasonable and that it contravened Article 12 of the Council of Europe Convention Against Trafficking. The proceedings also challenged the lawfulness of PER’s Electronic Monitoring condition together with a number of other linked claims. The challenge to PER’s Electronic Monitoring condition remains ongoing.

During the proceedings, the Home Secretary confirmed that she would amend her Modern Slavery Statutory Guidance to confirm that trafficking victims who require accommodation under the Modern Slavery Victim Care Contract will be able to receive such accommodation notwithstanding the presence of an Electronic Monitoring condition. Accordingly, she published a new version of her Modern Slavery Statutory Guidance incorporating these changes on 13 December 2022.

"Our client was denied accommodation and support under the Modern Slavery Victim Care Contract solely because of the Electronic Monitoring condition imposed on her by the Home Office," said Jonah Mendelsohn, a solicitor in the Public Law team. "We are pleased that the Home Secretary has acknowledged the need to provide accommodation to all trafficking victims where such a need arises. We hope that this policy change will result in better outcomes for trafficking victims and help prevent further exploitation in the UK."

PER is represented by Ahmed Aydeed, Jonah Mendelsohn, Conor Lamb, and Natalie Hawes, of the public law team at Duncan Lewis Solicitors, and counsel Chris Buttler KC and Aidan Wills of Matrix Chambers and Karen Staunton of 4 King’s Bench Walk Chambers.

Duncan Lewis is a leading national law firm representing privately funded and publically funded (legal aid) clients in more than 25 areas of law from offices across London and throughout England and Wales, which was this year crowned Law Firm of the Year at the Modern Law Awards.

Our immigration and public law team is ranked in the prestigious Legal 500 and Chambers directories and highly regarded as “the leading immigration firm, with extensive experience in immigration appeals, judicial reviews and immigration civil and public law matters.”