The Council of Europe’s group of experts on trafficking in human beings, GRETA, has welcomed a series of steps taken by the United Kingdom authorities in recent years to tackle human trafficking.
At the same time, GRETA has urged the UK to adopt a number of further measures to bring the country’s anti-trafficking laws, policies and practices fully into line with the Council of Europe’s anti-trafficking convention.
Nearly 3 in 10 trafficked people used for forced labour
In its latest UK evaluation report, published today, GRETA notes that the number of possible victims of trafficking referred to the National Referral Mechanism (NRM) rose sharply from 12,687 in 2021 to 17,390 in the period from January to September 2025.
The most common nationality of people referred to the NRM during the reporting period (2021 to 2025) was British. Labour exploitation remained the predominant form of trafficking, accounting for 29% of referrals between 2021 and 2024. For child victims, the main form of exploitation between 2021 and 2025 was criminal exploitation – notably relating to so-called “county-line” drug networks.
Faster procedures for identification needed
GRETA welcomed a number of measures taken by the UK authorities to cut delays in identifying victims of trafficking. These include reforms to the National Referral Mechanism, the recruitment of additional staff and the devolution of decisions concerning presumed child victims to local, multi-agency panels.
To further improve the identification of victims, GRETA called upon the authorities to ensure that the identification procedure does not take too long and that people referred to the NRM are not removed from the UK until the identification process has been completed.
The report also praised steps by the authorities to strengthen the criminal justice response to trafficking, including through the use of specialised web crawlers and other technological tools to detect trafficking and to collect and analyse digital evidence.
Guidance not to prosecute crimes people were forced to commit welcomed
Nevertheless, GRETA stressed the need for more resources, increased prioritisation and better co-ordination between law enforcement and other agencies, as well as reinforced financial investigations.
Furthermore, GRETA welcomed the revised guidance introduced in England, Wales and Scotland – in response to a judgment from the European Court of Human Rights – on not prosecuting victims of trafficking for crimes they were forced to commit.
However, GRETA asked UK authorities to take further legislative and practical measures in the light of continuing reports that victims of trafficking have been prosecuted and convicted for offences that they were compelled to carry out.
Today’s report highlights additional areas in which further progress is necessary. Further safeguards are needed to prevent trafficking for labour exploitation, for example, as well as the trafficking of people from groups at risk – including children, migrants, asylum seekers and people who are currently homeless.
In addition, GRETA expresses concern over continuing difficulties faced by victims of trafficking in accessing legal assistance and free legal aid. The report also urges the UK authorities to ensure that compensation is available to all victims of trafficking for the full damage suffered, and within a reasonable time.
Today’s report has been published together with the response of the British authorities.
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The Group of experts on action against trafficking in human beings (GRETA) is an independent body which monitors the way countries implement the Council of Europe Convention on action against trafficking in human beings. All 46 member states of the Council of Europe are bound by the convention, as well as non-member states Belarus and Israel.
Read the evaluation report on human trafficking in the UK in full
Learn more about the Council of Europe’s work to combat cross-border crime
