Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to strengthen the accreditation scheme for fishing vessels to ensure no-one is employed in conditions of slavery.

Seafish, the UK-wide levy-funded Non-Departmental Public Body, launched the Responsible Fishing Scheme (RFS) in January 2016. It is a voluntary vessel-based programme certifying high standards of crew welfare and responsible catching practices on fishing vessels. The RFS does not currently have the capability to audit, or the legal authority to police serious labour and human rights abuses at sea.

The RFS is overseen by an independent Oversight Board, which decided on 14 February 2017 that the health, safety & welfare elements of the standard should be strengthened and that the “crew voice” should be included in the audit methodology. This proposal will be put to the Seafish Board, as the Standard holder, for a decision at its meeting on 7 March.

If a case of modern slavery is reported or suspected at sea, within UK territorial waters, the police will investigate as they would any other criminal offence. The Modern Slavery Act gave law enforcement agencies, including the police and Border Force, new powers to investigate modern slavery offences at sea, including the power to stop, board, divert, detain and search a vessel, and to make arrests and seize any relevant evidence.