Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the finding on page 200 of Tony's Chocolonely's annual report for 2021-22, that 1,701 cases of child labour were found among cooperatives in the brand's supply chain, what steps her Department is taking to assist the Governments of (a) Ghana and (b) Côte d'Ivoire in supporting families in those countries to prevent child labour.

Whilst the cocoa industry is important for the Ghanaian and Ivorian economies and supports the livelihood of millions of farming households, reports of children engaged in hazardous child labour remain very concerning. The UK welcomes both countries' continued commitments to this. These include Ghana's provision of information on the number of child trafficking cases investigated, prosecuted and convicted, and Côte d'Ivoire's First Lady's efforts to address child labour. The UK is a key supporter of the Cocoa Forest Initiative, a joint partnership with Côte d'Ivoire and Ghana, as well as 35 cocoa and chocolate companies, which aims to achieve a more sustainable cocoa sector.

HMG remains committed to improving traceability in the cocoa sector, so that British consumers can make more informed choices. We are partnering with Mondelez International and Fairtrade through the Vulnerable Supply Chains Facility increase the resilience of cocoa farmers and their families to the economic impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic, and to accelerate income diversification. HMG has also pledged support ahead of the Global Conference on the Elimination of Child Labour in May, in order to galvanise action towards Sustainable Development Goal 8.7.