Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to identify and prevent the importation of goods which have been made with forced labour.
Answered by Lord Stockwood
The Government is committed to tackling forced labour in UK and global supply chains. The UK has a range of measures in place to combat forced labour, including through the Modern Slavery Act, Procurement Act, Great British Energy Act, and NHS (Procurement, Slavery and Human Trafficking) Regulations. The Immigration and Asylum Bill further strengthens reporting requirements for modern slavery statements, extends obligations to the public sector, and introduces fines for non-compliance.
The Responsible Business Conduct review assessed the effectiveness of the current framework and options to strengthen and modernise it. The Government is considering the review’s findings and will set out its plans in due course.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the report from the Uyghur Human Rights Project, The Spread of Uyghur Region Air Cargo Across Europe, published on 24 November 2025, which showed that there are a significant number of cargo flights between Urumqi in Xinjiang and the UK.
Answered by Lord Stockwood
The Government recognises the importance of ensuring UK businesses are not complicit in forced labour and human rights violations wherever they occur and notes the Uyghur Human Rights Project’s report. The UK’s current approach to tackling forced labour in global supply chains is focused on transparency through the Modern Slavery Act. The Responsible Business Conduct (RBC) review assessed the effectiveness of this policy approach and alternative options to modernise and strengthen the UK’s framework. The Government is considering the review’s findings and will set out its plans in due course.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what progress they have made in implementing the recommendations of the Joint Committee on Human Rights report Forced Labour in UK Supply Chains, published on 24 July 2025, in particular its recommendation that Great British Energy and other public buyers "must ensure that solar procurement decisions are made on the basis of independent assessments and not rely solely on the Solar Stewardship Initiative to provide assurance of supply chains”.
Answered by Lord Stockwood
The Government welcomes the recommendations made in the report, Forced Labour in UK Supply Chains. We are taking these into account as we progress the Responsible Business Conduct Review.
We have already taken action in the new Procurement Act to strengthen rules around excluding suppliers linked to modern slavery. Great British Energy (GBE) is establishing its own requirements of partners and will set out further detail over the coming months. While GBE considers the Solar Stewardship Initiative a valuable tool and partner, it is not currently a member.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what action they are taking to protect British steel on the UK market from cheap imports from China, including changes to tariff-free quotas.
Answered by Baroness Lloyd of Effra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport)
From 1 July 2026, steel import quotas will be reduced by 60% compared to the steel safeguard, with a 50% tariff on imports exceeding these levels. The measure will apply to imports of steel products that can be made in the UK. To reinforce this, we will in parallel raise our maximum allowed tariff level on steel at the WTO to protect domestic industry in the long-run from the impacts of global overcapacity.
This measure is not targeted at any one country, it is a response to a global problem of steel overcapacity and the threat it poses to our national security. We remain committed to continuing open dialogue with China and to working together where possible to address global challenges, including overcapacity. The UK will also continue to apply 10 anti-dumping measures and 2 countervailing measures against imports of Chinese steel.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what action they are taking to facilitate Taiwan’s accession to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership to strengthen supply chain resilience.
Answered by Lord Stockwood
All CPTPP accession applications remain under consideration by CPTPP members, and any decision to progress applications must be agreed by consensus.
The UK Government does not provide an ongoing commentary on applications to protect the confidentiality of CPTPP discussions and to observe the collective principles of the group. The UK Government has met with Taiwan, and other applicants, to discuss the UK's own experience of the accession process.
The UK has a strong trading relationship with Taiwan and engages on trade policy priorities with Taiwan through annual Trade Talks and the delivery of the UK-Taiwan Enhanced Trade Partnership.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the report by Global Rights Compliance Risk at the Source: Critical Mineral Supply Chains and State-Imposed Forced Labour in the Uyghur Region, published on 11 June, in particular the findings that China has expanded critical minerals operations in Xinjiang, and that the extraction industry relies on state-imposed forced labour programmes.
Answered by Baroness Gustafsson
This government will continue to speak up on human rights in China, including the repression of people in Xinjiang, and will continue to hold China to account. The new Critical Minerals Strategy will help secure the supply of critical minerals vital for the UK's economic growth and clean energy transition.
The strategy will promote responsible and transparent supply chains, including through greater adoption of responsible business practices to protect local communities and the environment. The strategy will set the long term ambition of securing supply of critical minerals and harnessing our competitive advantage in midstream and recycling. It will also set out how this will be achieved by optimising domestic production and by working collaboratively with international partners to achieve this. We will continue to assess and monitor the effectiveness of the UK's existing measures, alongside the impacts of new policy tools to tackle forced labour in supply chains and take action where appropriate.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the finding in the report by Global Rights Compliance Risk at the Source: Critical Mineral Supply Chains and State-Imposed Forced Labour in the Uyghur Region, published on 11 June, that supply chains of minerals from the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region are traced to global brands.
Answered by Baroness Gustafsson
This government will continue to speak up on human rights in China, including the repression of people in Xinjiang, and will continue to hold China to account. The new Critical Minerals Strategy will help secure the supply of critical minerals vital for the UK's economic growth and clean energy transition.
The strategy will promote responsible and transparent supply chains, including through greater adoption of responsible business practices to protect local communities and the environment. The strategy will set the long term ambition of securing supply of critical minerals and harnessing our competitive advantage in midstream and recycling. It will also set out how this will be achieved by optimising domestic production and by working collaboratively with international partners to achieve this. We will continue to assess and monitor the effectiveness of the UK's existing measures, alongside the impacts of new policy tools to tackle forced labour in supply chains and take action where appropriate.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the finding in the report by Global Rights Compliance Risk at the Source: Critical Mineral Supply Chains and State-Imposed Forced Labour in the Uyghur Region, published on 11 June, that China controls at least one stage of many key mineral value chains.
Answered by Baroness Gustafsson
This government will continue to speak up on human rights in China, including the repression of people in Xinjiang, and will continue to hold China to account. The new Critical Minerals Strategy will help secure the supply of critical minerals vital for the UK's economic growth and clean energy transition.
The strategy will promote responsible and transparent supply chains, including through greater adoption of responsible business practices to protect local communities and the environment. The strategy will set the long term ambition of securing supply of critical minerals and harnessing our competitive advantage in midstream and recycling. It will also set out how this will be achieved by optimising domestic production and by working collaboratively with international partners to achieve this. We will continue to assess and monitor the effectiveness of the UK's existing measures, alongside the impacts of new policy tools to tackle forced labour in supply chains and take action where appropriate.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the finding in the report by Global Rights Compliance Risk at the Source: Critical Mineral Supply Chains and State-Imposed Forced Labour in the Uyghur Region, published on 11 June, that output of titanium, magnesium and lithium from the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region is set to increase; and what action they are taking to decrease UK dependency on these products where slave labour has been used.
Answered by Baroness Gustafsson
This government will continue to speak up on human rights in China, including the repression of people in Xinjiang, and will continue to hold China to account. The new Critical Minerals Strategy will help secure the supply of critical minerals vital for the UK's economic growth and clean energy transition.
The strategy will promote responsible and transparent supply chains, including through greater adoption of responsible business practices to protect local communities and the environment. The strategy will set the long term ambition of securing supply of critical minerals and harnessing our competitive advantage in midstream and recycling. It will also set out how this will be achieved by optimising domestic production and by working collaboratively with international partners to achieve this. We will continue to assess and monitor the effectiveness of the UK's existing measures, alongside the impacts of new policy tools to tackle forced labour in supply chains and take action where appropriate.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether their discussions under clause 6(a) of the UK–USA Economic Prosperity Deal will include measures to search cargo plans from Xinjiang to ensure that they are not carrying goods made with forced labour.
Answered by Baroness Gustafsson
We have concluded a landmark economic deal with the United States, making the UK the first country to reach an agreement with President Trump. This is a unique deal that ensures UK industries are protected; talks with the US are ongoing. Conversations on labour practices, including forced labour in supply chains will form part of the broader discussions on a wider UK-US Economic Deal.
This government will continue to stand firm on human rights in China, including the repression of people in Xinjiang, and will continue to hold China to account. I raised the UK's concerns over human rights abuses, including in Xinjiang, with counterparts during my recent visit to China.