The total yearly cost of modern slavery in the UK is estimated to be between £3.3 billion and £4.3 billion.
This is the estimate of a July 2018 research report by the Home Office on the cost of modern slavery in the UK, which aims to understand its impact and inform policy responses.
The report calculates the overall costs to society of modern slavery based on:
- physical and emotional harms to the victim
- health service costs
- lost time and output
- victim services costs
There has been a consistent and sustained increase in the number of potential victims of modern slavery identified in the UK since 2009. The most common form of modern slavery is thought to be domestic servitude.
The report suggests that potential interventions to facilitate early identification could include public awareness campaigns, training frontline staff.
