Part 5: Modern Slavery Section 61: Identified potential victims of slavery or human trafficking: recovery period
Overview: This section implements the UK’s Council of Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings (ECAT) obligations to provide a recovery period to potential victims of modern slavery, during which the victim must not be removed from the UK.
	Background: ECAT provides that once there are reasonable grounds to believe a person has been a victim of trafficking, states have obligations to that person (such person being a "potential victim"). These obligations last until someone is determined to be a confirmed victim or not to be a victim, or until the end of 30 days from the Reasonable Grounds decision, whichever is later.
	ECAT provides (in Article 13) that states shall provide potential victims with a "recovery and reflection period" of at least 30 days (England and Wales provide 45 days in guidance) and until it is determined whether they are a confirmed victim unless disqualifications apply. Parties are obliged to authorise persons to stay in their territory during this period. The UK’s approach to implementing the provisions of ECAT is set out in guidance . This Section puts some of the key principles of the guidance into primary legislation.
	Subsection 1 provides that this section applies to those identified as potential victims of modern slavery following a Reasonable Grounds (RG) decision, provided this is not a further RG decision as set out in Section 62.
	Subsections 2 to 3 set out that those identified as potential victims of modern slavery are not removed from the UK during the recovery period. This requirement is subject to the disqualifications contained in Section 63. The recovery period is the period following a Reasonable Grounds (RG) decision, until such a time as a Conclusive Grounds (CG) decision is made. This period must be at least 30 days, as stipulated under ECAT or until a Conclusive Grounds decision is made – whichever is later. This does not amend the minimum 30-day recovery period for victims provided in ECAT. An identified potential victim is entitled to a recovery period (giving them protection from removal) of at least 30-days even where a Conclusive Grounds decision is made within 30-days of the positive Reasonable Grounds decision.