Asked by: Baroness Kennedy of Cradley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the effectiveness of section 54 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 in driving slavery out of supply chains.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Shadow Minister (Business and Trade)
Section 54 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 requires businesses with a turnover of £36 million or more to report annually on the steps they have taken to prevent modern slavery in their operations and supply chains.
The landmark ‘Transparency in Supply Chains’ provisions in the Modern Slavery Act have driven a change in business culture, spotlighting modern slavery risks on boardroom agendas and within the international human rights community. We recognise, however, there is more to do to keep businesses focused on this important issue.
Compliance with section 54 is high. In 2019, the Home Office contracted the Business & Human Rights Resource Centre (BHRRC) to undertake an audit of compliance with section 54. The audit was concluded in January 2020 with data accurate up to this point. The high-level findings of this audit were published on 17 September 2020 in the Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner’s annual report available here at Gov.UK.
In addition, in March 2021, the Government launched the modern slavery statement registry to radically enhance transparency by bringing together modern slavery statements on a single platform. The registry will provide a key tool for Government and others to monitor and drive compliance with section 54 . We have been encouraged by use of the registry. Since launch, over 9,300 modern slavery statements covering over 31,200 organisations have been submitted on a voluntary basis.
Asked by: Baroness Kennedy of Cradley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what recent assessment they have made of the number of people in modern slavery in the UK.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Shadow Minister (Business and Trade)
The hidden nature of modern slavery makes producing an accurate measure of its scale difficult.
In March 2020 the Office for National Statistics noted that there is no definitive source of data or suitable method available to accurately quantify the number of potential victims of modern slavery in the UK.
The Government is, however, committed to improving its understanding of the nature and scale of this complex crime. Since 2019, the Government has invested £10 million in the creation of the Policy and Evidence Centre for Modern Slavery and Human Rights to transform our understanding of modern slavery. The Home Office will continue working with the Centre and other partners to strengthen the evidence base underpinning our policy and operational response to modern slavery and to develop more robust ways to assess prevalence.
Asked by: Baroness Kennedy of Cradley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to review the legislation on firearms.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Shadow Chief Whip (Lords)
This country has some of the toughest firearms controls in the world and our firearms law is kept under constant review to safeguard against abuse by criminals and to preserve public safety.
We will not hesitate to act whenever the need arises. The Offensive Weapons Act 2019 introduced bans on the civilian possession of certain rapid-firing rifles and devices known as ‘bump stocks’. And the Home Office is bringing forward new statutory guidance to improve how people applying for a firearms licence are assessed in future. The new guidance draws on previous lessons learned and will ensure better consistency and improved standards across police firearms licensing departments.
Following the tragic shootings in Plymouth on 12 August, the Home Secretary has, as a matter of urgency, written asking all police forces in England, Wales and Scotland to review their current firearms licensing processes set against the current Home Office guidance and legislation. This review will help to reassure people that all necessary checks have been made to keep them safe. In particular, all forces are asked to carry out a full review of all certificates that have been seized, refused, revoked or surrendered in the past twelve months, and subsequently approved by the police.
Asked by: Baroness Kennedy of Cradley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the compliance by UK companies doing business in Africa with legislation and regulations in respect of combating forced labour.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Shadow Chief Whip (Lords)
It has not proved possible to respond to this question in the time available before Dissolution. Ministers will correspond directly with the Member.