Satvir Kaur has announced that the government has cleared the inherited backlog of modern-slavery cases awaiting a final decision under the National Referral Mechanism.
Home Office figures show 6,277 cases awaiting a conclusive-grounds decision on 30 September 2026, down from a peak of 31,101 in 2023.
That represents an 80 per cent reduction. The department says it has met a 2024 commitment to eradicate the backlog within two years.
A conclusive-grounds decision determines whether a person is formally recognised as a victim of modern slavery on the available evidence.
Faster decisions can allow survivors to receive certainty and move on from exploitative circumstances. They can also remove a barrier to immigration enforcement where a person is found not to have a right to remain.
The government has separately changed immigration rules so that a skilled-worker visa holder recognised as a modern-slavery victim can work for any employer for the remainder of the visa.
Kaur said the changes were intended to identify and protect victims more quickly while preventing misuse and pursuing the criminal gangs responsible for exploitation.
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