Cheshire East Council has adopted a charter against modern day slavery and is holding training sessions for recently arrived Afghan refugees warning them of the potential dangers.

Members of the council's corporate policy committee voted unanimously on Thursday to adopt the Cooperative Party's Charter against Modern Day Slavery to demonstrate the council's commitment to ensuring its practices do not support slavery.

Council leader Sam Corcoran (Lab), who first put forward the motion against modern slavery in 2018, told the committee: "Modern slavery is one of the great evils of our time and it's happening under our noses.

"That's why the Cooperative Party has called on councils to put in place a simple set of measures to make sure that none of the money spent on our behalf ends up in the hands of human traffickers and modern day slavers."

He added: "The charter just contains clear commitments for council to require its contractors to comply fully with the Modern Slavery Act 2015, require its tendered contractors to adopt a whistle-blowing policy and report publicly on the implementation of this policy."

Modern slavery involves the exploitation of people working for minimal wages who are totally dependent on their employers and have no way out.

They may be forced to act as sex workers, be in domestic servitude, forced labour, as well as criminal exploitation.

"More recently, we've seen modern slavery expanded to nail bars, car washes, farms, factories and restaurants," said Cllr Corcoran.

Cllr Stewart Gardiner (Knutsford, Con) said it was essential the council had enough staff to be able to investigate possible cases of modern slavery.

"It's imperative we ensure that our environmental health team is properly staffed and we have the appropriate level of officers to go and inspect these premises where necessary, and to respond to enquiries because it's no good having a policy if we haven't got the staff to enforce it," he said.

Cllr Kate Parkinson (High Legh, Con) asked what plans were in place to help asylum seekers and educate them to protect them against potential slavery.

Jill Broomhall, adult social care director at Cheshire East, said: "We are constantly on the watch for asylum seekers who are in our area so that they are not being trafficked either in or out.

"We have a multi-agency team that works with asylum seekers."

Sandra Murphy, part of the adult social care team, told the committee that, at a Cheshire East hotel where Afghan refugees were staying, bespoke training sessions were provided for the families.

"If there's any concerns about somebody going absent from a hotel, there's a dedicated officer that does check to see if any of those become victims of modern slavery," she said.

Deputy council leader Craig Browne (Alderley Edge, Ind) said he had worked in Romania years ago with victims of people trafficking and sexual exploitation and had seen first-hand the impact this had on them.

"I feel a personal but also a moral and ethical obligation to support this [charter]," he said.