Romanian nationals exploited in the UK

Freedom of Information Act Request

Ref: FOI 21-22 34

Date issued: 7 March 2022

Subject: Romanian nationals exploited in the UK

Question(s):

1.    What percentage of cases of labour exploitation in the UK are of Romanian nationals?

2.    What percentage of cases of sexual exploitation in the UK are of Romanian nationals?

3.    How, if at all, have levels of exploitation of Romanian nationals in the UK changed during COVID-19?

4.    Any information related to the demographics of victims of exploitation

Any information you are able to related to exploitation of Romanian nationals in the UK would be greatly appreciated.

Response:

1)      In 2021, the GLAA encountered 801 potential victims of slavery, servitude and forced labour of which approximately 23% were Romanian nationals.  Historically Romanians have accounted for the highest number of potential victims of labour exploitation across many sectors including car wash, construction and food processing.

2)    This falls outside of the GLAA remit.

3)      Romanian nationals still account for a large number of potential victims across many sectors. There is an intelligence gap around the displacement of workers in sectors that closed during the pandemic.

4)      The GLAA is beginning to see an increase in non-EU migrants following the EU exit, which may also have been exacerbated by the pandemic. An example being middle eastern workers employed at car washes and Asian workers employed in the food service sector. This is currently being monitored.                  

The GLAA intel analyst is currently working on sector dashboards which will contain victim demographics. These will be available on the GLAA website www.gla.gov.uk once complete.