A brand new Anti-Slavery Commissioner has been introduced after 18 months of the function being vacant.
Eleanor Lyons, who’s the present deputy Kids’s Commissioner for Englandhas been appointed to tackle the job of main efforts to forestall, detect and prosecute fashionable slavery offences throughout the nation.
Ms Lyons will take up the function from December 11 for a hard and fast time period of three years.
She stated she is “dedicated to a victim-centric method” and can work to make sure survivors’ experiences “inform my work to impact significant change”.
There had been criticism of the Authorities from the earlier post-holder for leaving the function unfilled for thus lengthy.
It has been vacant since Dame Sara Thornton completed her time period in April 2022.
Earlier this 12 months, talking throughout a session of the Residence Affairs Committee’s inquiry into human trafficking, Dame Sara described the failure to seek out somebody to switch her as “deeply regrettable” and prompt there may very well be a battle of curiosity with the Residence Workplace being in control of the appointment.
Ex-prime minister Theresa Maywho as residence secretary led the passage of the Trendy Slavery Act which established the publish, had additionally beforehand questioned when the function could be crammed.
The Impartial Anti-slavery Commissioner (IASC) is an unbiased monitoring physique of the Residence Workplace.
Trendy slavery can include slavery, servitude, pressured or obligatory labour and human trafficking, with victims unable to flee their state of affairs of exploitation typically resulting from threats, punishment, violence, coercion and deception.
Congratulating Ms Lyons, Residence Secretary Suella Braverman stated she’s going to “present great perception and experience as she takes up this function”.
Ms Lyons stated: “Trendy slavery and human trafficking are abhorrent crimes. Our response have to be targeted on prosecuting these accountable, stopping additional exploitation and defending victims, significantly these least typically heard.
“The Impartial Anti-Slavery Commissioner was created to drive efforts ahead and encourage greatest observe throughout the UK.
“I sit up for working constructively with stakeholders and constructing on the progress that has been made for the reason that function was created. I’m dedicated to a victim-centric method and to making sure that survivors’ experiences inform my work to impact significant change.”
Ms Lyons, who will end her function present function as deputy Kids’s Commissioner earlier than starting her anti-slavery function, was beforehand particular adviser to the prime minister, defence secretary and chief whip between November 2017 and August 2019.