Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if his Department will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing a legal requirement for UK businesses to carry out human rights and environmental due diligence on their supply chains.

The UK Government expects all British companies to adhere to the rule of law and build respect for human rights and the environment into all aspects of their operations both domestically and in other territories.

The promotion of due diligence is already provided for under existing legislation on corporate transparency, holding businesses to account on human rights and environmental matters. UK listed companies are required to cover relevant human rights and environmental issues in their annual reports. Large businesses are required to publish supply chain transparency statements on steps they have taken to ensure that no modern slavery or human trafficking is taking place in their business and through their supply chains. Both reporting requirements compel disclosure of a company’s due diligence arrangements where these are in place.

The Government is also committed to tackling deforestation and greening supply chains. The UK Timber Regulations prohibit the placing of illegally harvested timber and timber products on the UK market and requires operators, when they are first placing such products on the UK market, to undertake due diligence. The UK is also introducing world-leading due diligence legislation through the Environment Act, which looks specifically at tackling illegal deforestation in UK supply chains.