The Home Office says it has cleared the historic backlog of modern slavery cases awaiting final decisions, following a sharp reduction in the number of unresolved applications since 2023.
In an announcement on Monday 12 October, the government said it had fulfilled its commitment to eliminate the longstanding backlog within two years. However, the latest official statistics show that 6,277 cases were still awaiting a conclusive grounds decision on 30 September 2026.
The distinction is important: the Home Office is describing the accumulated historic backlog as cleared, not claiming that there are no outstanding cases in the system.
Outstanding cases down 80% from 2023 peak
According to the Home Office's September statistical release, the number of cases awaiting a conclusive grounds decision fell from a peak of 31,101 at the end of January 2023 to 6,277 at the end of September 2026, a reduction of approximately 80%.
The same release records a 6% rise from August 2026, when 5,928 cases were outstanding. The department says the remaining caseload increasingly reflects cases moving through the normal decision-making process rather than an accumulation of older applications.
Of the 6,277 outstanding cases, 6,016 were awaiting a first decision and 261 had been reopened following a reconsideration request. The median age of cases awaiting a decision was 65 days, compared with 68 days in August.
The Home Office cautions that the figures are provisional, drawn from operational systems, and that revisions to the statistical methodology mean some older published series are not directly comparable.
What is the National Referral Mechanism?
The National Referral Mechanism (NRM) is the UK's framework for identifying and supporting potential victims of modern slavery, including human trafficking and forced labour.
Following an initial reasonable grounds assessment, authorities may make a conclusive grounds decision on whether the available evidence establishes that a person is a victim of modern slavery on the balance of probabilities.
Long waits for those decisions can prolong uncertainty for people who have experienced exploitation. The government also argues that unresolved claims can delay immigration enforcement in cases where a person has no right to remain in the UK.
Minister says government has met its commitment
Safeguarding minister Satvir Kaur said the government had delivered on its promise to tackle unacceptable delays and argued that quicker decisions would help victims receive recognition while addressing misuse of the system.
Those are the government's stated objectives. The backlog figures alone do not establish how many individual claims were genuine or abusive, nor do they demonstrate the effect of the changes on removals.
Further changes proposed in Immigration and Asylum Bill
The Home Office linked the announcement to proposed reforms in the Immigration and Asylum Bill. According to its published policy factsheet, the bill includes changes to modern slavery decision-making, protections for exploited children, powers relating to slavery and trafficking prevention orders, and stronger reporting obligations on businesses and public bodies.
These legislative measures remain proposals subject to the parliamentary process. They should not be confused with the operational reduction in pending decisions already recorded by the Home Office.