Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether her Department has taken steps in response to the findings in the Human Rights Watch report entitled Asleep at the Wheel: Car Companies' Complicity in Forced Labor in China, published on 1 February 2024.

Modern slavery is a barbaric crime which we are determined to stamp out. In 2022, the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights published its assessment of the human rights situation in Xinjiang, which found that China had carried out “serious human rights violations” against Uyghurs and other predominantly Muslim minorities.

The Government’s overseas business risk guidance sets out the risks of operating in Xinjiang and urges UK companies to conduct appropriate due diligence and consider their corporate responsibilities when making business decisions. The Department for Business and Trade is continuing to consider actor agnostic measures that would improve supply chain transparency and traceability. I have requested meetings with named manufacturers in the Human Rights Watch (HRW) report to discuss this issue in more detail.