Results from the second quarter (April-June) of 2025 show a continued upward trend in referrals to the National Referral Mechanism. This quarter exceeds the first quarter for record numbers. Key results from the Home Office offical statistics are:
- 5,690 potential victims of modern slavery were referred to the Home Office from April to June 2025, representing a 7% increase compared to the previous quarter (5,295) and a 32% increase from April to June 2024 (4,312)
- the number of referrals received this quarter is the highest number of referrals received in a single quarter since the NRM began in 2009
- 75% (4,251) were sent to the Single Competent Authority (SCA) for consideration and 25% (1,439) to the Immigration Enforcement Competent Authority (IECA)
- the most common nationalities referred this quarter were UK (23%; 1,286), Eritrean (11%; 641) and Vietnamese (11%; 599)
- this was the highest number of referrals for UK and Eritrean nationals in a quarter since the NRM began
- 5,895 reasonable grounds and 5,712 conclusive grounds decisions were issued this quarter; of these, 58% of reasonable grounds and 61% of conclusive grounds decisions were positive
- the number of conclusive grounds decisions issued this quarter was the second-highest in a quarter since the NRM began, second only to the record of the previous quarter
- the number of cases awaiting a conclusive grounds decision continues to fall, with 11,645 cases awaiting a decision at the end of June 2025, a reduction of 17% from the previous quarter (14,033) and a reduction of 60% from the peak at the end of 2022 (29,275)
- the average age of cases awaiting a conclusive grounds decision at the end of June 2025 was 304 days, as compared to 474 days at the end of the previous quarter
- the Home Office received 1,772 reports of adult potential victims via the DtN process, the second-highest in a quarter since the DtN began and behind only the record from October 2024 to December 2024 (1,800)
See the full Home Office report for offical statistics here.