Nottingham City Council has approved a £461,000 package to continue and expand its Slavery Exploitation Team’s work across Nottinghamshire during 2025–2026.
The decision will see the city accept up to £327,557 from the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner (OPCC) and Nottinghamshire’s district and county councils. The money will fund staff posts and travel to allow the team to operate across all districts — Ashfield, Bassetlaw, Broxtowe, Gedling, Mansfield, Newark & Sherwood, and Rushcliffe — for another year.
The council will also contribute £133,814, drawn from several sources including Public Health (£24,838), the Asylum Dispersal Grant (£50,000), underspend from a secondment post (£49,000), and £32,754 already allocated from the general fund. The council noted that for every £1 invested locally, it would be leveraging £2.45 from partner funding to improve safeguarding outcomes and deliver public services.
The Slavery Exploitation Team works to identify and combat exploitation, trafficking and modern slavery across Nottingham and the wider county. The team’s officers collaborate with partners through a monthly Slavery Exploitation Risk Assessment Conference (SERAC), bringing together agencies to share intelligence, assess risks and agree coordinated safeguarding actions for victims.
Over the past year, the team received 395 referrals and continues to support survivors while also tackling linked issues including serious violence, domestic abuse, sexual violence, hate crime, honour-based abuse, homelessness, mental health, and organised crime.
The Nottingham model is recognised nationally. It features in Local Government Association guidance on tackling modern slavery and is regarded as an example of best practice. The team manager also chairs the LGA’s National Modern Slavery Network and sits on a Home Office First Responder Organisation Forum.
Council officers said the partnership funding would maintain an eight-strong full-time team, with a staffing cost of £436,243 for the year, and ensure the service can continue to operate effectively county-wide.
