Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what guidance her Department issues on whether products that have been made (a) entirely and (b) partially with forced labour should be sold in the UK.

The Home Office does not provide guidance on whether specific products have been made entirely or partially with forced labour.

The Government encourages businesses to monitor their supply chains with rigour, to uncover and remedy any instances of modern slavery they may find. Under Section 54 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015, commercial businesses who operate in the UK and have a turnover of £36m or more must report annually on the steps they have taken to prevent modern slavery in their operations and supply chains by publishing an annual modern slavery statement. The purpose of these ‘transparency in supply chains’ provisions is to allow scrutiny by consumers, investors, and civil society.

Businesses must ensure their statement has been approved by the Board, signed by a director and is available on the homepage of their website. They must publish the statement within 6 months of their financial year end. The Home Office has published statutory guidance for businesses to support them in drafting these statements. This guidance also provides information and further resources to support businesses identify and mitigate modern slavery risks in their supply chains.

To further enhance transparency, the modern slavery statement registry was launched in March 2021 to bring modern slavery statements together on a single platform.