Asked by: Lord McColl of Dulwich (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government, following reports in the Sunday Times on 26 January about the forced labour of at least 16 people in a McDonald’s restaurant, a car wash and a commercial bakery, what steps are they taking to ensure that the proposed Fair Work Agency will have sufficient powers and resources to detect and prevent such exploitation in future.
Answered by Baroness Jones of Whitchurch - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Government is committed to giving the Fair Work Agency the tools it needs to enforce its remit effectively and robustly. It will have strong powers that will allow it to investigate and take action against businesses that flout the law. Details around the implementation and funding will be provided in due course.
Asked by: Lord McColl of Dulwich (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government, following reports in the Sunday Times on 26 January of forced labour in bakeries supplying high street supermarkets and a McDonald's franchise, what assessment they have made of the benefits of introducing mandatory supply chain due diligence to identify and prevent exploitation of workers.
Answered by Baroness Jones of Whitchurch - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The UK supports voluntary due diligence approaches taken by UK businesses to identify and prevent exploitation of workers across their operations and supply chains, in line with the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs) and the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises.
We will continue to assess and monitor the effectiveness of the UK’s existing measures, alongside the impacts of new policy tools that are emerging, to ensure we can best promote responsible business practices and take action where appropriate.