The National Health Service (Charges to Overseas Visitors) (Amendment) Regulations 2015

Provision relating to modern slavery

6.—(1) For regulation 16 of the Principal Regulations (victims of human trafficking), substitute—

“Victims of modern slavery

16.— (1) No charge may be made or recovered in respect of any relevant services provided to an overseas visitor, where a competent authority—

(a) has identified the overseas visitor as a victim of modern slavery; or

(b) considers that there are reasonable grounds to believe that the overseas visitor is a victim of modern slavery, and—

(i) a competent authority is required to make a conclusive determination; and

(ii) there has not been a conclusive determination by a competent authority that the overseas visitor is not a victim of modern slavery.

(2) In this regulation—

“competent authority” means a designated competent authority of the United Kingdom for the purposes of the Trafficking Convention;

“Trafficking Convention” means the Council of Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings (agreed at Warsaw on 16th May 2005);

“victim of modern slavery” means a victim of—

(a)

trafficking in human beings, which has the same meaning as in the Trafficking Convention, as set out in article 4 of that Convention; or

(b)

slavery, servitude, or forced or compulsory labour, which have the same meaning as they have for the purposes of article 4 of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (agreed at Rome on 4th November 1950).”.

(2) In the Principal Regulations—

(a) in the heading to regulation 6 (provision relating to recovery of charges in respect of refugees and victims of human trafficking) and in paragraph (1)(b)(ii) of that regulation; and

(b) in regulation 25(2)(a) (family members of overseas visitors),

for “human trafficking”, substitute “modern slavery”.