What we have done
Following the public commitment made by the Council, to achieve the standards laid out within the Co-operative party Charter against Modern Slavery, a significant amount of work has been delivered. This has included specialist training for procurement officers and the production of guidance for commissioners and contract managers.
The Council has updated and reviews relevant policies to ensure explicit reference to modern slavery. Likewise, it’s previously updated Invitation to Tender documentation in respect of requirements under the Modern Slavery Act 2015 and its Safeguarding Policy, that all suppliers and their staff delivering a contract must adhere to, which also sets out that they must have an up-to-date Modern Slavery Transparency Statement (where required by law) and that these statements are registered at https://TISCreport.org are subject of regular review.
To improve awareness and strengthen its ability to identify and respond to cases of modern slavery, the Council has maintained its commitment to having officers from across council directorates who have received specialist training to become single points of contact for modern slavery in order to improve working practices and co-ordination between the Council, the Police and the wider partnership. The development of these officers will continue, and it is planned that extra officers will receive training during 2026/27 as part of a Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking Training Plan.
Delivered four bespoke Human Trafficking and Modern Slavery training courses to Council staff at the Rockingham Professional Development Centre, with more courses planned for 2026. The courses delivered during 2025 are included in a total of 21 courses delivered to Council staff since March 2021.
Worked with Social Landlords, including the Selective Licensing Areas, with the provision of awareness raising, spot the signs of modern slavery information and reporting pathways.
Worked with South Yorkshire Police Modern Slavery and Organised Immigration Crime Unit on the enhancement of reporting pathways and intelligence/information sharing processes.
Worked with South Yorkshire Police, other South Yorkshire Local Authorities and other partners on the development of a Human Trafficking and Modern Slavery Information Sharing Agreement.
Worked with South Yorkshire Police and partners on the development and publication of ‘A Strategic and Tactical Response to Modern Slavery and Organised Immigration Crime in South Yorkshire, 2025 - 2028.
Continued as a core member of the South Yorkshire Modern Slavery and Organised Immigration Crime Partnership.
Officers have continued to develop links with local and regional partners to ensure that intelligence and information is received in the right way and appropriately acted upon, either through responsive or proactive operational activity. As a result of work with the South Yorkshire Police Modern Slavery and Organised Immigration Crime Team, reporting pathways have been further improved with the introduction of an electronic reporting template available to partners.
Training and awareness raising material is available, with posters displayed around Council premises, an e-learning module available to all staff and specialist training for relevant front-line officers.
A previously established Modern Slavery Steering Group continues to oversee the Councils response to modern slavery and human trafficking and comply with the legislative requirements of the Modern Slavery Act 2015. An Action Plan has been produced to provide a clear structure for work to be carried out and this to record and monitor progress.
Tackling Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking has been a key priority for The SRP since April 2019 when it was first included in the 2029/2022 Partnership Plan, and again in the 2022/2025 plan. It was again retained as a key priority within the Safer Rotherham Partnership Community Safety Strategy 2025/2028 as part of the Tackling Violence, Abuse and Exploitation theme.
