UK Supply Chains: Uyghur Forced Labour

Debate between Douglas Alexander and Jonathan Davies

Tuesday 3rd December 2024 Commons Chamber

[Mr Alexander]

I pay tribute to the right hon. Lady for the work that she has done—and to others for their work—both during and after the passage of the Modern Slavery Act 2015. The Government recognise that the landscape has changed since the Act was introduced, and we are committed to tackling modern slavery through a holistic Government and society approach that places victims and survivors of this serious crime back at the centre of our work. I can assure her that we are considering all the Home Affairs Committee’s recommendations on this issue, which were recently published, and we will issue our response to its report in due course. In addition to that, we are considering what elements of other legislation are relevant to the Modern Slavery Act. I am willing to accept responsibility for the past five months, but I am conscious that she has been making these pleas for longer than that, and that her questions might be better directed to those on her side of the House.

[Jonathan Davies (Mid Derbyshire) (Lab)]

I welcome the urgent question and the response from the Minister, because the oppression that the Uyghur people face is absolutely appalling and shameful. The changing nature of supply chains and of retail means that this will be an evolving issue. Can I encourage the Minister to keep those relationships under review, and to reach out to retailers and distributors, so that our response changes in the light of the situation that we face?

[Mr Alexander]

My hon. Friend makes a powerful point, which is that we want to do this with business, rather than to business. Of course there is varied conduct and there are varied levels of adherence to requirements in the business community, and particularly in the retail sector, but my sense is that overwhelmingly, responsible retailers want to get this right, as surely as there is consensus in this House that we need to get this right. We will listen carefully to the voice of retailers. As he recognises, just-in-time goods, fast fashion, logistics and supply chains are rapidly changing and evolving. Notwithstanding our willingness to engage with business, we have to recognise that sadly, some businesses will not accept a voluntarist approach and will need statutory regulation if we are to systematically address the exploitation about which so many of us are concerned.