Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that companies operating in the UK are carrying out robust due diligence to identify and prevent modern slavery practices within their operations and supply chains.

The UK’s current approach to tackling forced labour in global supply chains is focused on driving transparency. Section 54 of the UK’s Modern Slavery Act 2015 requires businesses with a turnover of £36m or more to publish modern slavery statements.

The Government launched a review in the Trade Strategy, into the UK’s approach to responsible business conduct, focused on tackling human rights and labour abuses and environmental harms in global supply chains.

The review is progressing and is considering the effectiveness of the UK’s current regime and the merits of alternative measures to support responsible business practices, including mandatory human rights and environmental due diligence. We shall update the House when the review is complete.