Investment Industry Exposure to Modern Slavery

Gareth Davies Excerpts

Tuesday 26th October 2021 Westminster Hall

[Gareth Davies (Grantham and Stamford) (Con)]

I beg to move,

That this House has considered investment industry exposure to modern slavery.

Modern slavery is one of the most prevalent and egregious violations of human rights in the world today.

It is great to see you in the chair, Mr Robertson, for what is my first ever Westminster Hall debate. Hopefully my performance will not mean that it is my last. I welcome the Minister to her new, important role. I know she will carry out her brief superbly in one of the most important jobs in Government—safeguarding our most vulnerable people.

I think we can all agree that the shameful existence of modern slavery has no place in a civilised world. It is an issue that should concern every person who believes in the integrity of common humanity, and should be a concern for every business, because it distorts markets and undermines ethical business practices. As an international community, we have rightly taken collective responsibility for defending human rights around the world. Organisations, such as the United Nations working group on contemporary slavery, have drawn increased attention to the issue and made significant strides in defining and identifying this covert and highly complex crime.

That being said, there is a great deal more work to do. Human exploitation continues to pervade every major nation on earth. Almost half the countries in the world have yet to criminalise slavery. In the UK alone, it is estimated that 136,000 people are currently victims of this awful crime. However, we are here today to specifically discuss the role that the investment industry can play in tackling modern slavery because, as it currently stands, financial services are not considered part of the solution in public policy. I want to do my little bit to try to change that.

We must first acknowledge the great work that this Government, and previous Conservative Governments, have done in tackling this issue, thanks to the leadership of my right hon. Friend the Member for Staffordshire Moorlands (Karen Bradley), together with, of course, our late friend and colleague James Brokenshire, the Security Minister at the time, who passed the Modern Slavery Act 2015. The vision for that legislation was truly world-leading, and the UK became the first country in the world to require businesses to identify and address modern slavery risks in their operations and supply chains. It is an Act that we, in this country, should be incredibly proud of, for it has highlighted that modern slavery exists in the private economy. It has also paved the way for legislation in other countries—in Australia, France and the Netherlands.

However, while we reflect on what the 2015 Act has achieved, we must also acknowledge the need for evolution. All legislation requires continual review to keep pace with developing risks, and the Government have therefore, rightly, announced that they plan to strengthen the Act in response to consultation in 2019.

[Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)]

I congratulate the hon. Gentleman on bringing this forward. I spoke to him outside, so he knows what my thoughts are. Does he not agree that it is important that for girls in particular, we need to understand that investment portfolios should show mindfulness on human slavery? It is not enough to say that if we do not use modern slavery in our businesses, our hands are clean. Would the hon. Member agree that we must be cognisant of how investment portfolios gain interest? This can only be done, as the hon. Gentleman says, through legislation and legislative change.

[Gareth Davies]

I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for his intervention, which is a great honour. That is another first for me, so I feel like I am really making it now. I completely agree that young girls and young people—all people, actually—who have investments, savings or a retirement pot, need to know and have confidence that those who invest that money on their behalf are doing so prudently and are putting in place the checks to ensure that there is no inadvertent risk of modern slavery. The Government should do everything they can, as I will come on to in a minute.

The Government’s commitment to amend section 54(5) is intended to make it more prescriptive for investment funds. I completely agree with that, but even with those changes, that section would remain entirely focused on internal business structures and supply chains, not where their investments are made. The good news is that an increasing number of responsible companies are holding themselves to a higher standard. Many investors are already assessing modern slavery risks as part of their robust environmental, social and governance strategies or choosing to report their alignment with the United Nations’ guiding principles on business and human rights.

Yesterday, I met a group of investors, and this year alone, I have met 24 separate financial services companies in preparation for today’s debate. I found that they already have robust measures in place to tackle modern slavery. On the whole, however, the sector has not integrated modern slavery risks into investment processes to the same extent that it has adopted environmental risks. Some 795 financial organisations published modern slavery statements under the Act last year, but of 79 asset managers who submitted a statement, only 27% disclosed that they had conducted due diligence on modern slavery risks.

That is clearly a problem, but I believe that there are three solutions. First, the Government could broaden section 54 of the Act and consult on including a requirement that investment portfolios are included, as they are in Australia. Secondly, the Government could issue specific statutory guidance on how investors can assess modern slavery risks—again, as they do in Australia—so they are equipped with knowledge on that assessment. Thirdly, as it is a global problem that needs a global solution, we should work with our global allies to establish a taskforce, modelled on the taskforce on climate-related disclosures. Although the issue is different, the approach can be the same.

As it stands, financial services firms are a £9 trillion lever that we are not yet pulling in our fight against modern slavery. The UK is the largest net exporter of financial services in the world and the law change that I have proposed could make a difference in eradicating that horrendous crime. It would also protect and promote our democratic values at home and abroad. British savers and investors should never be used to support profit from human slavery. It matters for global Britain, as our leadership in this space will create prosperity at home and help to promote our values abroad. The situation that we walk past is the situation that we accept. It is an issue hidden in plain sight. We need to pull every lever we can to end it once and for all.

Strategy for Tackling Violence Against Women and Girls

Gareth Davies Excerpts

Wednesday 21st July 2021 Commons Chamber

[Victoria Atkins]

The hon. Lady knows the range of crimes that are included under the umbrella of violence against women and girls: they range from rape and sexual assault through to female genital mutilation, forced marriage, stalking and so on. Every victim of such crimes must be treated as a victim first and foremost. If they feel able to—they will not always—they can report their offences to the police, and helplines and so on are available to them as well. If we can help them with investigating those crimes, I hope that will be a significant support for them.

[Gareth Davies (Grantham and Stamford) (Con)]

I thank the Minister for her statement, for the measures announced and for all her hard work and dedication to this incredibly important issue. Women and girls are the predominant victim of modern slavery and human trafficking. The Government have committed to strengthening the Modern Slavery Act 2015; does the Minister agree that one way we can strengthen that Act is to expand section 54 to include investment portfolios?

[Victoria Atkins]

I have already met my hon. Friend to discuss this area of potential policy development and I am very interested in it. As he rightly says, as we review the modern slavery strategy we will be able to build on the significant success we have had since the introduction of the previous strategy and, indeed, the passing of the Act. My hon. Friend knows that I am looking carefully at his suggestion.

Fire Safety Bill

Gareth Davies Excerpts

Consideration of Lords amendments & Ping Pong & Ping Pong: House of Commons
Wednesday 24th February 2021 Commons Chamber

[Kit Malthouse]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend. As Members who have perhaps been in the House a little longer than he has will know, I was Housing Minister for a brief period of 12 months about 18 months ago, and the work started then of sitting alongside the construction industry to get it to stand up and fulfil its obligations to the people who were living in defective high-rise buildings in particular. A number of firms did and, from working with them through the Treasury, the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and MHCLG, I know that there is a new atmosphere abroad. That is certainly part of the challenge that we face: it is not just about the regulation we are putting in place today, but a cultural change in the industry towards building safety so that it is now a full partner in facing the challenge for the future.

Government funding does not absolve building owners of their responsibility to ensure their buildings are safe. We have been clear that building owners and the industry, as my hon. Friend has just said, should make buildings safe without passing on costs to leaseholders. They should consider all routes to meet costs including, for example, through warranties and recovering costs from contractors for incorrect or poor work.

We have always been clear that all residents deserve to be and feel safe in their homes. We are working at pace to ensure remediation of unsafe cladding is completed, and we have an ambitious timescale to do so. As I said earlier, about 95% of high-rise buildings with Grenfell-type ACM cladding identified at the start of 2020 have completed remediation or had works on site by the end of last year. However, I am afraid the Bill is not the correct place for remediation costs to be addressed. It is a short but critical Bill to clarify that the fire safety order applies to the external walls, including cladding, and flat entrance doors in multi-occupied residential buildings. That means the responsible person must include those parts of the building in their fire risk assessment. That does not include the remediation of historical defects. It does not have the necessary legislative detail that would be needed to underpin such amendments in regulations. The Building Safety Bill is the appropriate legislative mechanism for addressing these issues, and it will be introduced in the spring. It will contain the detailed and complex legislation that is needed to address remediation costs.

[Gareth Davies (Grantham and Stamford) (Con)]

Does my hon. Friend believe that incorporating these amendments might delay the Bill and mean that we cannot execute these measures now?

[Kit Malthouse]

I am afraid that that is the fundamental risk we face at the moment. We want to get the Bill on the statute book as quickly as possible. It forms the starting block of a complex web of legislation and regulation that is required to bring about changes in building safety across the whole country. I hope that Members recognise that the potential delay that may be inserted by a back and forth between the Houses over this particular issue is not useful. As I say, this issue should be debated during consideration of the Building Safety Bill, which will be brought forward shortly, and I know that Members will embrace that particular piece of legislation.

Forensic Science Regulator and Biometrics Strategy Bill

Gareth Davies Excerpts

2nd reading & 2nd reading: House of Commons
Friday 25th September 2020 Commons Chamber

[Gareth Davies (Grantham and Stamford) (Con)]

It is a great pleasure to follow the hon. Member for Ilford North (Wes Streeting). I congratulate him on elevating the entertainment level of this debate, or at least the perception of it. I am sorry to those watching that it will now go swiftly downhill.

I congratulate the hon. Member for Bristol North West (Darren Jones) on bringing this debate and this Bill to the House. I also pay tribute to my hon. Friend the Member for Bolton West (Chris Green) not just for his speech, which was extensive in its detail and consideration, but for all the work he has done over the past couple of years on this subject. His speech made it very clear how knowledgeable he is and how much he cares about it.

I welcome the opportunity to speak in this debate about a Bill that will bring justice by raising the bar for forensic science in our country. As we have heard, there are two main points to the Bill: standards and enforcement. It will put into statute a forensic science code of practice, and give the regulator powers to enforce those standards. It has been shown previously that, where there is legislative imperative, police forces and providers act to make improvements. This Bill is required to improve the quality of forensic science, which is currently divided between in-house police service teams and outsourced private organisations.

The execution of forensic science analysis differs from police force to police force, and therefore the quality of service is disparate and could jeopardise justice. According to the regulator, only 30% of police forces are compliant with crime scene investigation standards. Digital forensic compliance is at only 20%, and five police forces still lack accreditation for fingerprint services. We expect the highest possible standards for forensic science because it helps us to deliver justice for victims. That is why there is broad support for this Bill, including from police chiefs. However, it is important that we scrutinise it to highlight some of the potential issues with its provisions.

As has been discussed extensively in previous speeches, costs to police forces and providers must be considered. The comments of my hon. Friend the Member for Christchurch (Sir Christopher Chope) are important: requiring the code of practice to be fully adopted will inevitably cost police forces time and money, and the Government should consider provisions to enable them to do that. I also concede what my hon. Friend the Minister said about the overall cost savings after the implementation of the Bill. There are already delays in processing digital forensics; they sometimes take 12 months to analyse. Extra controls could extend delays further, and we should be mindful of that as we proceed with the Bill.

Of course I support the Bill, but it is important that we consider those up-front costs, the administration and the potential time impacts of its implementation so that preparations can be made accordingly. I also support any initiatives that more greatly assist Lincolnshire police. I am proud to live in a county that is so well served by our police force. It is not the best-funded police force—that is a matter for another day—but we have some of the most professional and dedicated officers anywhere in the country. Lincolnshire police has demonstrated that it is important to move with the times, innovate and harness new technologies, whether it is the use of drones, which are critically important for rural areas such as mine in identifying and finding missing persons, or mobile fingerprinting technology, which has greatly assisted our police force in identifying potential suspects quickly.

Any improvements to forensic science will also clearly help to enhance the work of Lincolnshire police. For that reason, I warmly congratulate the hon. Member for Bristol North West for bringing this Bill to the House, and I support it entirely.

Oral Answers to Questions

Gareth Davies Excerpts

Monday 10th February 2020 Commons Chamber

[Dean Russell (Watford) (Con)]

8. What steps she is taking to help protect the UK from terrorism.

[Gareth Davies (Grantham and Stamford) (Con)]

14. What steps the Government are taking to ensure that (a) law enforcement bodies, (b) police officers and (c) intelligence agencies have the tools they need to tackle terrorism.

[The Minister for Security (Brandon Lewis)]

Terrorists are a persistent menace to our security and way of life. The nature of the terrorist threat is constantly changing, so our response must evolve as well. The safety and security of the UK is obviously our No. 1 priority, and we are committed to ensuring that our security and law enforcement organisations have the powers and tools they need to keep us safe. To do that, we have provided an additional £160 million for counter-terrorism policing this year, taking counter-terrorism police funding to over £800 million. The counter-terrorism and sentencing Bill, and our emergency legislation, will close further gaps in our ability to combat terrorism.

--- Later in debate ---

[Gareth Davies]

Countering terrorism is not just about London and the big cities; it is across the whole country. I welcome the extra £8.6 million of funding for Lincolnshire police. What can be done to prevent people in rural areas from being drawn into terrorist activity?

[Brandon Lewis]

My hon. Friend makes a good point. Overall funding for CT policing will grow to £906 million in 2020-21. That is a £90 million year-on-year increase. The money will support and maintain the record high numbers of ongoing counter-terrorism policing investigations, allowing us to respond swiftly and decisively to incidents, no matter where they take place—and we have to be clear that they could happen anywhere in the UK. It is a significant additional investment that builds on the work we are doing to ensure that we are protecting our communities with 20,000 extra police officers around the country, and the work we do in all communities around the country with the Prevent programme to keep people safe and prevent people from being taken into extremism in the first place.