In December 2013, the Home Secretary laid a draft Bill on Modern Day Slavery before the Houses of Parliament, the first slavery-related Bill since the Bill for the abolition of slavery which was passed by Parliament in 1833. The 2013 Bill, criticised for being very limited in its scope, was subject both to two wide-ranging consultations1 and to pre-legislative scrutiny by a Joint Select Committee of Lords and Commons early in 2014; a revised Bill has now been presented to Parliament and is currently going through its various stages: those concerned about this issue can therefore press their MP to support the Bill and argue for amendments as appropriate. Many of the issues identified in the research round-up below are the focus of fierce argument as the Bill is debated. The Home Secretary has said that she wants it to be enacted before this Parliament comes to an end in spring next year. The Bill is a milestone, reflecting the work of campaigning groups and researchers who have been pressing for more effective legal and judicial action against what is now seen to be a growing and very serious issue within the UK. Initially the question of modern-day slavery was seen as essentially a problem of trafficking for sexual exploitation and early estimates suggested it involved only a few hundred women. Since the Morecambe Bay cocklepickers tragedy of 2004, when 23 Chinese men were drowned, forced labour has also become a numerically significant issue. Modern day slavery in the UK is now understood to take many forms, including trafficking for sexual and labour exploitation, forced labour, cannabis farming, domestic servitude, organ sale, forced begging and pickpocketing. In the last few years, a significant amount of research has contributed to pressure on government to act and this review summarises the key reports, providing a mug's guide to current levels of knowledge and understanding within the UK and more widely. Virtually no research yet exists on most areas of modern slavery in the UK, however. © Policy Press 2014.

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