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

To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they will take (1) to introduce a new UK corporate accountability law, and (2) to ensure it is effective.

The Government recently confirmed, following consultation, reforms for ‘Restoring trust in audit and corporate governance’. It has no plans to propose additional legislation for corporate accountability, for example along the lines of the EU’s recent draft directive for cross cutting corporate sustainability due diligence.

The Government supports the voluntary due diligence approaches by UK businesses to these issues, taking account of international frameworks such as the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights and the OECD Guidelines on Multinational Enterprises. The Government has not been persuaded that a blanket approach to mandatory due diligence in law is practical or proportionate.