The Rights Lab at the University of Nottingham, which undertakes research on modern slavery, recently undertaken research on the risk of modern slavery in adult social care.

The research carried by Dr Caroline Emberson and Dr Alex Trautrims, is particularly timely given the recent case in Gwent, Wales, in which four people were arrested for modern slavery offences following a police raid at a nursing home.

The research briefing, which provides an overview of the research findings as well as recommendations for action can be found here.

The two research articles, upon which the research briefing is based, are:

• Public procurement and modern slavery risks in the English adult social care sector and How might modern slavery risk in adult social care procurement be reduced? – read the full document here: MSEU Briefing_Modern slavery risk in adult social care_FINAL 

In summary, the research found that the changing nature of the provision of adult social care – from the employment of care-workers directly by local authorities to more ‘flexible’ employment relationships involving a range of intermediaries – may jeopardise the safety of care-workers.

Using adult social care services in Nottinghamshire as a case example, researchers found serious risk of forced labour and abuse in the work force.