Local Authority Case Study – Scottish Borders Council – Developing a Joined-up Approach to Human Trafficking
Throughout 2022 and 2024 local authority staff at Scottish Borders council established a short life working group, chaired by the authority’s Violence Against Women Coordinator and supported by the council’s Transformation Team.
The working group brought together a range of teams across the council including adult and child protection, homelessness, public protection alongside Police Scotland, Children 1st and Scottish Borders Women’s Aid. The working group also brought together national stakeholders including Scottish Government, Trafficking Awareness Raising Alliance (TARA), Just Right Scotland, Migrant Help and COSLA to inform learning at a national level.
The aim of the working group was to evaluate the impact of a structured implementation of the National Referral Mechanism toolkit for First Responder agencies in the Scottish Borders by providing a framework linking strategic leadership to frontline practice and protocol development.
The outcome of this work was establishing a multi-agency response to Human Trafficking and Exploitation across the council.
To share learning and resources from this process Scottish Borders Council have developed a suite of resources for Local Authorities across Scotland who are looking to improve the response to Human Trafficking and Exploitation locally. Whilst these resources are specific to the Scottish Borders Council, they can be adapted to suit the needs of your area/organisation. Your training department are welcome to use the slides to create an E-learning unit suitable for your own training platform.
- Multi Agency Guidance for use across all council services, both strategic and operational.
- Training and Quiz for raising awareness across council services as to the impacts of Human Trafficking and Exploitation
- Learning report produced by the SLWG reflecting on the two year codesign and implementation process