Mon, 03 Feb 2025 13:04:27 GMT

🚨 SCA offloading its NRM duties onto criminal solicitors – what you need to know 🚨

A long one, I'm afraid....

If you’ve represented a client in criminal proceedings who’s also an NRM referral, you may have noticed an increasing trend: the Single Competent Authority (SCA) is pushing its evidence-gathering role onto defence solicitors. This raises serious issues.

Under the Modern Slavery Act 2015, the SCA is responsible for gathering information to assess whether a defendant is a victim of trafficking. But in practice, it’s now frequently relying on defence solicitors to source evidence that should be proactively obtained.

The SCA routinely sets tight deadlines (often 14 days) for additional evidence – directing requests to legal reps rather than actively investigating via First Responders, the police, or other agencies. If evidence isn’t submitted in time, decisions may be made on limited material.

Why is this happening?

🔹 The SCA lacks investigative powers – it relies on external sources but is increasingly passive.

🔹 There’s a huge backlog in the NRM system, and shifting responsibility to solicitors reduces its workload.

🔹 The result? The burden of proof is shifted onto the defence.

This puts criminal solicitors in a difficult position. You’re now expected to:

✔️ Chase First Responders, medical professionals, & NGOs for supporting evidence.

✔️ Handle complex trafficking claims without proper funding under legal aid.

✔️ Risk your client’s Section 45 defence being undermined by SCA delays.

The implications are serious. A delayed or poor NRM decision can:

⚠️ Prevent a victim from accessing crucial protections.

⚠️ Result in wrongful convictions if a Section 45 defence is unavailable.

⚠️ Create unfairness in the criminal justice system, with SCA decisions influencing CPS charging and court outcomes.

The SCA is the competent authority – it should be proactively obtaining evidence rather than placing the responsibility on criminal solicitors. This shift is procedurally unfair and risks serious miscarriages of justice.

If you’re dealing with these issues, challenge SCA delays and refusals. Push back against unreasonable deadlines. Consider raising procedural unfairness where a client is denied a full and fair NRM process.

Have you seen this in your cases? Let’s discuss. The SCA cannot be allowed to quietly offload its duties at the expense of access to justice.

#NRM #ModernSlaveryAct #CriminalDefence #LegalTwitter #AccessToJustice #LegalAid

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