Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether she has had recent meetings with Cabinet colleagues to help ensure that UK trade deals protect workers rights and prevent forced labour.

The Secretary of State regularly engages with Cabinet colleagues on a wide range of issues. The UK is committed to ensuring trade supports an environment where workers’ rights are upheld, including working towards the eradication of modern slavery (including forced labour) in global supply chains.  In our new free trade agreements with Australia and New Zealand, for example, we have secured labour chapters containing strong modern slavery provisions, which support our global efforts in this area.