Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the oral contribution of the hon. Member for Sefton Central of 18 March 2021, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the Malaysian Government's investigation into the involvement of Brightway Holdings in modern slavery.

The Government has not made an assessment of allegations of Brightway Holdings involvement in modern slavery in Malaysia nor of the Malaysian Government's investigations of the company, which are still ongoing.

The UK is committed to ending modern slavery, forced labour and human trafficking worldwide by 2030. In Malaysia, NHS Supply Chain works with suppliers of personal protective equipment (PPE) to increase awareness of the issues and risks that can exist in supply chains and to provide guidance around managing labour standards and adherence to NHS Supply Chain's Supplier Code of Conduct.

The UK has funded projects in Malaysia through the Home Office's Modern Slavery Innovation Fund (£248,000 in 2020/21), including responsible recruiting in public sector supply chains, workers representation and partnership with the Ethical Trading Initiative.