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UK funding to improve care standards for modern slavery victims in India

PROJECTS to improve care standards for victims of modern slavery in India and Nepal are among those receiving part of a £4 million funding boost from the Home Office.

The Modern Slavery Innovation Fund (MSIF), which supports international projects to trial innovative ways of stopping modern slavery, has awarded up to £800,000 each to projects across the world.


The Freedom Fund is one among the first six projects which have been chosen for funding. The fund will work in India and Nepal to enhance victim care of frontline workers, the Home Office said in a statement on Friday (26).

Nick Grono, CEO of the Freedom Fund, said: “Together with our frontline partners, we are providing essential support to victims of child labour, early marriage, forced labour, debt bondage, and sex trafficking in high-prevalence areas of India and elsewhere.

“This grant will enable us to develop and roll out a highly innovative, victim-centred joint service delivery model that combines the most effective anti-slavery approaches with international social care best practice.

“It will allow groups of grassroots organisations, as well as government agencies, to co-ordinate more effectively and provide greatly improved personalised care to victims and their families.”

The funding marks the second phase of the fund and will run until 2021. The first phase of the fund totalled £6m and supported 10 projects between Spring 2017 and March 2019.

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Highlights

  • Licensing reforms let pubs host events and serve outdoors with ease
  • South Asian workers turned pub rejection into a thriving desi pub scene.
  • South Asian pubs mix Indian cuisine, Punjabi beats, and British pub culture.

From rejection to reinvention

When south Asian foundry and factory workers arrived in England decades ago, they faced a harsh reality, refusal at the pub doors and their response was by building their own. From The Scotsman in Southall over 50 years old, run by Shinda Mahal, to Birmingham’s The Grove and The Covered Wagon, these establishments emerged as immigrant workers from India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh moved to the West Midlands.

Now, as the UK government launches a fast-track review to scrap outdated licensing rules, these south Asian pubs stand ready to write a new chapter in British hospitality. “Pubs and bars are the beating heart of our communities. Under our Plan for Change, we’re backing them to thrive”, said prime minister Keir Starmer.

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