Slavery and Human Trafficking Statements

Baroness Kennedy of Cradley Excerpts

Monday 16th October 2017 Lords Chamber

Asked by

[Baroness Kennedy of Cradley]

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the effectiveness of slavery and human trafficking statements in reducing slavery in supply chains.

[Baroness Vere of Norbiton (Con)]

My Lords, it will take time to see the full benefits of the Modern Slavery Act, but the requirement for businesses to publish slavery and human trafficking statements has already had a significant impact. The first year of compliance with Section 54 of this Act has only just passed. It is therefore too early to make a formal assessment of its impact. However, we know that thousands of statements have been published, with many examples of good practice emerging.

[Baroness Kennedy of Cradley (Lab)]

My Lords, research by the CORE Coalition has shown that overall compliance with this section of the Act is low. Thousands of companies may well have complied but thousands have also failed to provide a statement, and those that have show that there are varying levels of quality. For example, the Co-operative Group has produced a nine-page document, yet Halfords could manage only nine sentences and has not put a link on the front page of its website. Civil society cannot enforce this section of the Act on its own. Will the Government seek to develop infrastructure to enforce compliance with this section of the Act, to revise Home Office guidance to ensure statements cover all six areas required by the Act, and to specifically state that non-reporting, or reporting that no action has been taken to root out slavery, is frankly not good enough?

[Baroness Vere of Norbiton]

The noble Baroness raises many interesting issues. Our view is that this new legislation will take time to embed. We want to work in partnership with organisations, not create burdensome legislation. However, on 28 September the Government wrote to all 10,000 companies that are required to make these statements to remind them of their obligations. The noble Baroness mentioned updating the guidance. I am pleased to say that it has been updated, so on 4 October the Home Office issued revised guidance that specifically sets out the six areas she referred to, but which also doubles down on the deadline. It makes absolutely clear what their responsibilities are and within what timeframe.