Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, which (a) organisations, (b) Government Departments, (c) NGOs and (d) others attended the roundtables on forced labour in Xinjiang in March 2021; what the job titles were of those representing organisations; and how many of those attendee organisations have (i) published a Modern Slavery statement and (ii) removed their supply chains from Xinjiang.
On 10th and 11th March, the Secretary of State for International Trade hosted two roundtables on the issue of forced labour in Xinjiang. 22 organisations attended, including representatives from the technology and retail sectors, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and business organisations.
Under section 54 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015, commercial organisations with a turnover of £36m or more, that a have a footprint in the United Kingdom, are required to publish a modern slavery statement. Organisations are responsible for determining whether the legislation applies to them and those in scope of the Act are required to publish statements for each financial year online.
HM Government is keen to encourage businesses to share their perspectives on how they are responding to the situation in Xinjiang, and we continue to make clear that they should act without delay to make sure they are not complicit in any way in the violation of rights and responsibilities.