Modern slavery and labour exploitation connected to the Walsall Local Authority area

Freedom of Information Act request.

Ref: FOI 25-26 37

Date issued: 23 December 2025

Subject: Modern slavery and labour exploitation connected to the Walsall Local Authority area 

Question:

I am seeking data relating to modern slavery and labour exploitation connected to the Walsall Local Authority area (ONS code: E08000030) on general locations where labour exploitation has been identified or reported.

I understand the Home Office holds NRM and MS1 data, but please confirm whether the GLAA has submitted any NRM referrals or MS1 forms (Duty to Notify) relating to the Walsall area. If none, please state “no”. If yes, please provide the data listed below.

Scope / timeframe: GLAA records for incidents and MS1 (Duty to Notify) forms relating to Walsall local authority (ONS code E08000030) between 1 January 2018 and 31 December 2024.

Data requested (case-level / anonymised as necessary): for each MS1 record submitted by GLAA where the exploitation or the victim location falls within Walsall, please provide the following variables in CSV or Excel format (one row per MS1): 

1. Year of referral (YYYY)
2. Location of exploitation — most granular geographic identifier available (prefer ONS Output Area code; if not available, provide Lower layer Super Output Area (LSOA code), (MSOA code), or postcode district like WS1, WS2, etc). Please indicate which geographic code is supplied.
3. Location area of victim — same geographic granularity options as above (OA → LSOA → MSOA → postcode district).
4. Type of exploitation (coded where possible, e.g., forced labour / labour exploitation / sexual exploitation / domestic servitude / criminal exploitation) — please indicate coding scheme.
5. Nationality of victim (as recorded)
6. Place of birth (as recorded)

If the GLAA has referred any individuals to the National Referral Mechanism (NRM) in cases linked to Walsall (E08000030), please provide the same variables as above, with the same geographic breakdown. If no such cases exist, please state “no”. 

Intelligence Summaries / Problem Profiles.

If held, please provide any anonymised summaries or assessments relating to labour exploitation in Walsall. These may include, but are not limited to:

• Number of intelligence logs relating to Walsall town centre broken down by year 2018-2025 (if there is not any listed within these years but have been previously please state those years there was intelligence logs and how many)
• Common indicators reported (e.g., overcrowded housing, wage theft, third-party control)
• any thematic intelligence summaries concerning risks or patterns in Walsall
• information on raids or safeguarding visits where labour exploitation was found (summarised/anonymised)
• outcomes of multi-agency visits or inspections related to labour exploitation
• hotspot or geographic concentration summaries (any level available)

If Walsall-specific material is not held

If no Walsall-level intelligence exists, please provide any West Midlands–level material held by the GLAA that relates to the topics that is stated above.

Our response:

The information you have requested for National Referral Mechanism (NRM) data is not recorded in a way that is easily extracted. To find this information would require a manual search. Our assessment is that the length of time to undertake this activity would exceed the cost thresholds set out under section 12 of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), and therefore we are unable to provide an answer to your questions.

Under our duty to assist  (Section 16), we would refer you to the Competent Authority stats available on their website here: National Referral Mechanism statistics - GOV.UK. This data can be cross referenced with the police force area such as the West Midlands Police.

In terms of anonymised summaries or assessments please find a response below to the specific items you requested below:

1.     Number of intelligence logs relating to Walsall town centre broken down by year 2018-2025.

• Referrals:
• 2018: 2
• 2019: 3
• 2020: 5
• 2021: 5
• 2022: 3
• 2023: 2
• 2024: 3
• 2025 (up to 09/12/25): 4

• Intelligence Logs:
• 2018: 0
• 2019: 1
• 2020: 7
• 2021: 8
• 2022: 7
• 2023: 2
• 2024: 2
• 2025 (up to 09/12/25): 4

2.     Common indicators reported (e.g., overcrowded housing, wage theft, third-party control)

Top concerns across this period related to:

                                                  i.     MS1 – Slavery, Servitude, Forced / Compulsory Labour

                                                 ii.     NMW (non-GLAA)

                                               iii.     Immigration

                                               iv.     Withholding Wages / Pay

                                                v.     Safety at Work

                                               vi.     PAYE, NI, VAT

3.     Any thematic intelligence summaries concerning risks or patterns in Walsall

a.     This information is not held.

4.     Information on raids or safeguarding visits where labour exploitation was found (summarised/anonymised)

a.     This information is not held. The GLAA does not record this level of information and does not conduct ‘raids’.

5.     Outcomes of multi-agency visits or inspections related to labour exploitation

a.     Of the 21 investigations that are closed, where the GLAA has been preset at a multi-agency visit for the purpose of investigation labour exploitation in the West Midlands, we have recorded the following outcomes:

• 13 were referred to another agency
• 2 were issued notification of offences
• 3 were closed due to insufficient evidence
• 1 was closed with a penalty issued by other agency
• 2 were closed with no offences disclosed.

6.     Hotspot or geographic concentration summaries (any level available)

a.     This information is not held.