The government has announced a package of fresh support to assist child victims of modern slavery and fund innovative ways to improve our response to this abhorrent crime.

During a speech to the McCain Institute in London, where she was presented with an award in recognition of her work fighting modern slavery, Prime Minister Theresa May announced a £5 million fund to test new approaches to tackling this crime.

The fund is now open for applications, and is the second round of an £11 million Modern Slavery Innovation Fund designed to build the evidence base around new approaches to tackle modern slavery around the world. So far it has supported projects such as GoodWeave and AllianceHR to tackle modern slavery in supply chains linked to UK companies in India and South Africa, and The Salvation Army and Retrak which are supporting victims in Nigeria, the Philippines and Ethiopia.

Speaking at the event last night Prime Minister Theresa May said:

More than 40 million men, women and children are suffering in modern slavery across the world, with between 10,000 and 13,000 in the UK alone.

That is why – first as Home Secretary and now as Prime Minister – I made tackling modern slavery a personal mission.

The announcement comes as Minister for Crime, Safeguarding and Vulnerability Victoria Atkins announced to Parliament that the latest Independent Child Trafficking Advocates scheme, run in partnership with Barnardo’s, would officially open next week in the West Midlands. So far, the early adopter sites have helped over 200 children who are potential victims of modern slavery access support and help as they rebuild their lives.

Speaking in a Westminster Hall debate yesterday, Minister for Crime, Safeguarding and Vulnerability Victoria Atkins said:

It is horrendous that victims of modern slavery have their freedom denied and that is why this government is absolutely determined to do all we can to tackle this crime.

Today, I am delighted to announce that the Independent Child Trafficking Advocates service will be extended to children in the West Midlands next week. These advocates provide invaluable specialist support to child victims of modern slavery.

The minister also announced that the service will be rolled out to help children in the East Midlands from January 2019, and in Croydon from April 2019. Last year, across the three new sites over 480 children were referred into the National Referral Mechanism.

Barnardo’s Chief Executive Javed Khan said:

We are really pleased the Home Office has announced the expansion of our Independent Child Trafficking Advocates Service to vulnerable children in the West Midlands, East Midlands and Croydon.

It’s crucial all trafficked children get the help they need to recover from the exploitation and trauma they have suffered. And children at risk of this horrific crime must be protected from harm.

By developing this much-needed service we will be able to support more children who are trafficked into the UK or from one part of the UK to another. We will also be able to upskill more professionals working with children to understand their vulnerabilities, including the risk of being trafficked internally.

Mental health problems can affect anyone, any day of the year, but this is a great day to talk about it and support each other.

Since last year’s event, we’ve done a lot to raise awareness of mental health issues here at Sellafield, and we’re keen to continue this work – recognising that we all need to do more.

Approximately 1 in 4 people in the UK will experience a mental health problem each year. Talking to someone about these is often the first step to getting better.

As part of this, we’re sponsoring and attending the launch of the ‘This is Me’ campaign in Liverpool.The event and the campaign are designed to help raise awareness and change attitudes towards mental health in the north-west business community.

Sellafield Ltd’s Alan Rankin said:

We are delighted to be part of the north west group of companies in Liverpool supporting the ‘This Is Me’ campaign, focused on reducing stigma around mental health and making our work place a better place for everyone to be.

We are proud supporters of the campaign, and earlier this year, along with the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority produced our own ‘This is Me’ video which raised awareness of mental health in the nuclear industry.

Sellafield Ltd materials engineers Jenny Robinson and Bethan Murray helped promote the expertise, progress and challenges that accompany the waste management and clean up of the UK’s nuclear sites, to an audience of young nuclear professionals.

They were volunteering at the 3 day Young Generation Network event at Energus in West Cumbria.

The event attracted workers from across the nuclear industry, who heard from leading scientists and engineers on the technical and socio-economical aspects of one of the most complex, long term environmental challenges in Britain – decommissioning 17 nuclear locations in the UK.

The network gives its 650 UK members regular opportunities to meet and share knowledge with young nuclear professionals from across the globe.

Jenny said:

Events like this offer a great opportunity to share experiences and meet likeminded professionals outside of the usual circles, while hearing from world class experts in their field, such as our own head of legacy ponds, Dorothy Gradden.

The event included over 40 delegates from around the UK, and Jenny said:

Events like these raise the profile of the challenges faced here at Sellafield, as well as the future opportunities of the world-wide decommissioning market.

Bethan added:

It was great to hear from attendees about opportunities across the nuclear industry both in the UK and abroad. This is a very exciting sector and I want to remain in this industry for many years to come.

As part of the event, the attendees visited the Sellafield and Low level waste repository sites, and Emily Janzen, Canadian Nuclear Laboratories said:

It’s been really useful to travel internationally to see different nuclear sites, how they compare and the different processes that they use.

Information sharing and knowledge transfer is essential in an industry like this, and I’m hoping that the future of nuclear involves more nuclear energy.

Please visit the Young Generation Network for further information.