Donate

The high price of exploitation: modern slavery’s £60bn hit to the UK

To mark Anti-Slavery Day 2025, Unseen has released a new report highlighting the economic cost of modern slavery on UK policing.

Modern slavery isn’t just a hidden human tragedy – it’s socio-economic impact on the UK is up to £60bn a year, the equivalent of 2% of our entire economy, according to a new report from the anti-slavery charity Unseen. 

Behind the statistics are thousands of people trapped in exploitation, and a crime wave that’s draining police time and public funds. The cost to police forces alone has soared by 141% since 2018, reaching £210m in 2024 – enough to pay for around 7,500 new police officers. 

Yet despite this staggering price tag, Unseen’s report reveals that very little money is being clawed back from the criminals who profit from the suffering of others. In 2024, just £854,000 was recovered from modern slavery cases — less than 0.5% of what it costs police to tackle the crime. 

“Modern slavery is a lucrative criminal enterprise that destroys lives,” said Andrew Wallis OBE, CEO of Unseen. “But our response isn’t targeting what drives it — money. We need to treat it as the serious economic crime it is. If we cut off the profits, we can dismantle criminal networks and protect victims.” 

Modern slavery’s impact varies sharply across the UK 

The report exposes sharp regional differences in both the cost and prevalence of modern slavery. 

  • Kent Police reported the highest impact, with modern slavery accounting for £24.5m or 5.7% of its total budget. 
  • In comparison, West Yorkshire (1.17%), Merseyside (1.02%), and even the Metropolitan Police (1.56%) spent far less proportionally. 
  • Rates of reported exploitation also vary widely — from 128 cases per 100,000 people in Kent to just 8 in Devon and Cornwall. 

These differences, Unseen says, are likely due to disparities in policing priorities and awareness, rather than the true spread of the crime. 

read the full report
A £60bn wake-up call 

Unseen’s analysis shows the UK is facing an escalating financial and moral crisis. Each case of modern slavery not only devastates victims and their families but also strains public services — from healthcare and housing to policing and social care. 

At a time when budgets are tight and public services are stretched, the charity warns that ignoring modern slavery’s true economic cost is both inhumane and unaffordable. 

“This £60bn burden affects every taxpayer and every community,” Wallis added. “If we don’t tackle it head-on, the costs — financial and human — will keep rising.” 

What Unseen is calling for 

The charity is urging the government and law enforcement agencies to take urgent action, including: 

  1. Recognising modern slavery as an economic crime so financial investigations start from day one. 
  2. Boosting asset seizures to hit traffickers where it hurts — their profits. 
  3. Reinvesting all recovered funds from modern slavery cases into survivor support and police investigations. 
  4. Improving cooperation between police, government, and NGOs to identify victims and prosecute offenders.
  5. Investing in prevention to reduce long-term costs and stop exploitation before it starts. 

Unseen is also calling for modern slavery to be reinstated in the UK’s National Threat Assessment, putting it on a par with other major organised crimes. 

What next? 

Read our new report on The economic cost of modern slavery: policing and see our key recommendations for change. 

Join our newsletter to stay up to date with the latest news and developments at Unseen. 

Related stories

Donate
Justine Currell

As I came to understand more about the issue, including through a visit to an Unseen safehouse, I knew I needed to do more to stop this abuse and exploitation.

For the last five years of my Civil Service career, I was the Modern Slavery Senior Policy Advisor in the Home Office and led on development of the Modern Slavery Act, including the transparency in supply chains provision and business guidance.

I joined Unseen to lead the development of the Modern Slavery & Exploitation Helpline, and Unseen’s work with businesses. I am regularly called upon to present at national and international conferences and use my experience of working with Ministers to influence other governments internationally to take action to address modern slavery and, in particular, business supply chain issues.

In my spare time I enjoy keeping fit, music, reading and travelling.

Andrew Wallis

What ultimately compelled me to act was a report on how people from Eastern Europe were being trafficked through Bristol airport to the USA. Kate Garbers, who went on to be an Unseen Director, and I wrote to all the city councillors, MPs and the Police Chief Constable challenging them on the issue. The challenge came back to us: this city needs safe housing for trafficked women. And so Unseen began.

But we never wanted Unseen to be just about safe housing. We wanted to end slavery once and for all, and that remains our driving focus.

I chaired the working group for the Centre for Social Justice’s landmark report “It Happens Here: Equipping the United Kingdom to Fight Modern Slavery”. This is now acknowledged as the catalyst behind the UK’s Modern Slavery Act of 2015. It was a great honour to be awarded an OBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours that year. On the other hand, I’ve also been described as “the loveliest disrupter you could ever hope to meet”.

This job has taken me from building flat-pack furniture for safehouses, to working with businesses to address slavery in supply chains, to delivering training, raising awareness and advising governments around the world.

When not at work, I enjoy travelling, spending time with my dog Harley, cooking, supporting Liverpool and Yorkshire CC, music (I’m a former DJ) and endurance events such as the Three Peaks Challenge and Tribe Freedom Runs – which I vow never to do again. Until the next time.