Eradicating Modern Slavery: NHS Supply Chains

Thursday 21st November 2024 Written Statements

[The Minister for Secondary Care (Karin Smyth)]

An estimated 50 million people live in modern slavery across the world. Modern slavery exists in every country, including the UK, with instances of forced and child labour documented within the supply chain of the health and social care sector.

The UK Government are committed to eradicating modern slavery both domestically and abroad and are clear that the NHS should not be purchasing goods or services which have been tainted by slavery or human trafficking.

DHSC, supported by NHS England, delivered a review in December 2023 into the risk of modern slavery within NHS supply chains. The review showed a significant amount of commitment from our suppliers to tackling modern slavery in their supply chains, and confirmed the important role that regulation would play in this area.

As such, I am pleased to announce that we will be introducing robust regulations to ensure the eradication of modern slavery in NHS supply chains in England.

As required by the NHS Act 2006, we are creating regulations which will place legal duties on public bodies to assess modern slavery risk in procurement and contract activities and take reasonable steps to address, and where possible, eliminate that risk.

These regulations will impose legal obligations on public bodies to assess and address modern slavery risks in their supply chains when procuring goods and services for the purpose of the NHS. Public bodies will be required to first evaluate the level of modern slavery risk associated with a procurement, then take appropriate and proportionate actions to mitigate and, where possible, eliminate that risk. Reasonable actions include ensuring robust selection and award criteria is built into their tenders to respond to identified risks; and introducing specific contract terms to monitor and require mitigation where instances of modern slavery are discovered.

The Department is pleased to announce that public consultation on our draft regulations has now been launched. This marks an important step in our commitment to eradicate modern slavery from our healthcare system. A collaborative approach is necessary, and as such we are inviting the views and contributions from a wide range of stakeholders including public bodies, suppliers, trade associates, interest groups and the public. Subject to the outcome of the consultation we intend to lay draft regulations before Parliament in due course.

Efforts to reform procurement rules in the UK are ongoing. The Procurement Act 2023, scheduled to take effect on 24 February 2025, will establish the new legal framework that the public sector must adhere to for applicable procurements. In January 2024, the Health Care Services (Provider Selection Regime) Regulations 2023 came into forces, outlining procurement regulations for clinical services.

Modern slavery is an abhorrent crime which requires a collective international response. DHSC has a duty to eradicate the use of goods and services tainted by modern slavery in NHS supply chains. This is not something that impacts only the health sector; modern slavery impacts everyone, everywhere. This Government will work to ensure a collaborative Government and cross-sector approach to tackling modern slavery within our regulatory framework.

[HCWS245]