Asked by: Alison Hume (Labour - Scarborough and Whitby)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if he will publish an updated version of the Critical Minerals Strategy that includes policies on promoting the use of polyhalite.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
Building on the UK Critical Minerals Intelligence Centre’s (CMIC) updated criticality assessment, government has worked hand in hand with industry to develop a new Critical Minerals Strategy this year. This new, targeted Critical Minerals Strategy will help secure our supply chains for the long term and drive forward the green industries of the future and will be published in the coming weeks.
CMIC assessed 82 candidate materials as part of its 2024 criticality assessment. Polyhalite, a combination of various minerals including potassium, was not one of these candidate materials. However, government is fully aware and acknowledges the importance of polyhalite to the UK.
As we plan for future criticality and growth assessments, we will look to evaluate which additional minerals and materials, such as polyhalite, will need to be in scope to reflect the UK economy’s growing demands amidst evolving global supply chain dynamics.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the report by Global Rights Compliance Risk at the Source: Critical Mineral Supply Chains and State-Imposed Forced Labour in the Uyghur Region, published on 11 June, in particular the findings that China has expanded critical minerals operations in Xinjiang, and that the extraction industry relies on state-imposed forced labour programmes.
Answered by Baroness Gustafsson
This government will continue to speak up on human rights in China, including the repression of people in Xinjiang, and will continue to hold China to account. The new Critical Minerals Strategy will help secure the supply of critical minerals vital for the UK's economic growth and clean energy transition.
The strategy will promote responsible and transparent supply chains, including through greater adoption of responsible business practices to protect local communities and the environment. The strategy will set the long term ambition of securing supply of critical minerals and harnessing our competitive advantage in midstream and recycling. It will also set out how this will be achieved by optimising domestic production and by working collaboratively with international partners to achieve this. We will continue to assess and monitor the effectiveness of the UK's existing measures, alongside the impacts of new policy tools to tackle forced labour in supply chains and take action where appropriate.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the finding in the report by Global Rights Compliance Risk at the Source: Critical Mineral Supply Chains and State-Imposed Forced Labour in the Uyghur Region, published on 11 June, that supply chains of minerals from the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region are traced to global brands.
Answered by Baroness Gustafsson
This government will continue to speak up on human rights in China, including the repression of people in Xinjiang, and will continue to hold China to account. The new Critical Minerals Strategy will help secure the supply of critical minerals vital for the UK's economic growth and clean energy transition.
The strategy will promote responsible and transparent supply chains, including through greater adoption of responsible business practices to protect local communities and the environment. The strategy will set the long term ambition of securing supply of critical minerals and harnessing our competitive advantage in midstream and recycling. It will also set out how this will be achieved by optimising domestic production and by working collaboratively with international partners to achieve this. We will continue to assess and monitor the effectiveness of the UK's existing measures, alongside the impacts of new policy tools to tackle forced labour in supply chains and take action where appropriate.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the finding in the report by Global Rights Compliance Risk at the Source: Critical Mineral Supply Chains and State-Imposed Forced Labour in the Uyghur Region, published on 11 June, that China controls at least one stage of many key mineral value chains.
Answered by Baroness Gustafsson
This government will continue to speak up on human rights in China, including the repression of people in Xinjiang, and will continue to hold China to account. The new Critical Minerals Strategy will help secure the supply of critical minerals vital for the UK's economic growth and clean energy transition.
The strategy will promote responsible and transparent supply chains, including through greater adoption of responsible business practices to protect local communities and the environment. The strategy will set the long term ambition of securing supply of critical minerals and harnessing our competitive advantage in midstream and recycling. It will also set out how this will be achieved by optimising domestic production and by working collaboratively with international partners to achieve this. We will continue to assess and monitor the effectiveness of the UK's existing measures, alongside the impacts of new policy tools to tackle forced labour in supply chains and take action where appropriate.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the finding in the report by Global Rights Compliance Risk at the Source: Critical Mineral Supply Chains and State-Imposed Forced Labour in the Uyghur Region, published on 11 June, that output of titanium, magnesium and lithium from the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region is set to increase; and what action they are taking to decrease UK dependency on these products where slave labour has been used.
Answered by Baroness Gustafsson
This government will continue to speak up on human rights in China, including the repression of people in Xinjiang, and will continue to hold China to account. The new Critical Minerals Strategy will help secure the supply of critical minerals vital for the UK's economic growth and clean energy transition.
The strategy will promote responsible and transparent supply chains, including through greater adoption of responsible business practices to protect local communities and the environment. The strategy will set the long term ambition of securing supply of critical minerals and harnessing our competitive advantage in midstream and recycling. It will also set out how this will be achieved by optimising domestic production and by working collaboratively with international partners to achieve this. We will continue to assess and monitor the effectiveness of the UK's existing measures, alongside the impacts of new policy tools to tackle forced labour in supply chains and take action where appropriate.
Asked by: Noah Law (Labour - St Austell and Newquay)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of stockpiling (a) critical minerals and (b) (i) cathode active materials, (ii) black mass and (iii) other derivative products in the context of (A) industrial resilience and (B) supply chain security.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
This Government recognises the importance of domestic supply in insulating UK industry from potential economic shocks, but working with international partners to diversify global supply chains is also essential in building resilience and improving security of supply.
Solutions such as targeted stockpiling measures (both government and industry led), diversified international supply, and expansion of recycling capabilities provide opportunities to improve resilience and security of supply while reducing demand for virgin inputs. We need to take a proactive approach and will work with UK industry to ensure that policies developed have clear, tangible benefits for both economic security and growth.
Asked by: Alex Sobel (Labour (Co-op) - Leeds Central and Headingley)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps his Department is taking to help tackle the use of Uyghur slave labour in supply chains that include critical minerals.
Answered by Douglas Alexander - Secretary of State for Scotland
This Government will continue to speak up on human rights in China, including the repression of people in Xinjiang, and will continue to hold China to account.
The new Critical Minerals Strategy will help secure the supply of critical minerals vital for the UK’s economic growth and clean energy transition. The strategy will promote responsible and transparent supply chains, including through greater adoption of responsible business practices to protect local communities and the environment.
We will continue to assess and monitor the effectiveness of the UK’s existing measures, alongside the impacts of new policy tools to tackle forced labour in supply chains, and take action where appropriate.
Asked by: Baroness Coussins (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to support mining companies headquartered or incorporated in the UK in complying with the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, in the light of reports of human rights abuses resulting from the mining of key minerals.
Answered by Lord Collins of Highbury - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The UK supports voluntary human rights due diligence by UK businesses across their operations and supply relationships, in line with the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Guidelines on Multinational Enterprises. In mineral supply chains, the Government supports the OECD's Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Mineral Supply Chains which promotes responsible operation in conflict-affected and high-risk areas. The UK is Chair of the multi-stakeholder Voluntary Principles Initiative on Security and Human Rights that guides companies on security operations while respecting human rights. Several UK headquartered and incorporated mining companies are members of the initiative.
The UK's new Critical Minerals Strategy will help secure the supply of critical minerals vital for the UK's economic growth and clean energy transition whilst promoting responsible and transparent supply chains.
Asked by: Baroness Coussins (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking, including through their embassies, to support environmental defenders, human rights defenders and indigenous communities who are at risk of violence due to their opposition to mining operations by companies headquartered or incorporated in the UK.
Answered by Lord Collins of Highbury - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The UK recognises the essential role that civil society and human rights defenders play in promoting and protecting human rights, democracy, and the rule of law. Our Embassies and Missions support those at risk, including by monitoring cases, observing trials and raising issues with host governments. We encourage delivery partners to incorporate lived experience into programme design and delivery in an ethical and meaningful way. The UK government works to promote responsible business practices and greater value-addition in developing countries' critical minerals supply chains through several ODA-funded initiatives working with governments, investors and civil society, including support to the Extractives Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) and Natural Resource Governance Institute (NRGI).
Asked by: Iain Duncan Smith (Conservative - Chingford and Woodford Green)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of the findings of the Global Rights Compliance report entitled Risk at the Source: Critical Mineral Supply Chains and State-Imposed Forced Labour in the Uyghur Region, published on 11 June 2025.
Answered by Douglas Alexander - Secretary of State for Scotland
This government will continue to speak up on human rights in China, including the repression of people in Xinjiang, and will continue to hold China to account.
The new Critical Minerals Strategy will help secure the supply of critical minerals vital for the UK's economic growth and clean energy transition. The strategy will promote responsible and transparent supply chains, including through greater adoption of responsible business practices to protect local communities and the environment.
We will continue to assess and monitor the effectiveness of the UK's existing measures, alongside the impacts of new policy tools, to ensure we can best promote responsible business practices and take action where appropriate.