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1606249

registered interest
date	22/03/2023
answering body	Home Office
answering dept id	1
answering dept short name	Home Office
answering dept sort name	Home Office
hansard heading	Modern Slavery Act 2015
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has made an assessment of the effectiveness of the disclosure and reporting obligations of the Modern Slavery Act 2015; and what steps she is taking to ensure that all qualifying companies fulfil their disclosure and reporting obligations under that Act.
tabling member constituency	Darlington
tabling member printed	Peter Gibson
uin	171555
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/04/2023 answer text <p>Section 54 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 requires businesses with a turnover of £36 million or more to report annually on the steps taken to prevent modern slavery in their operations and supply chains.</p><p>Compliance with section 54 is high. Following a Home Office commission, the Business &amp; Human Rights Resource Centre completed an audit of compliance with Section 54 of the Modern Slavery Act. The high-level findings of this audit were published on 17 September 2020 in the Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner’s annual report, available here: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/independent-anti-slavery-commissioners-annual-report-2019-to-2020" target="_blank">Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner’s annual report 2019 to 2020</a>.</p><p> </p><p>To further increase compliance with section 54, the <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/919937/Government_response_to_transparency_in_supply_chains_consultation_21_09_20.pdf" target="_blank">Government_response_to_transparency_in_supply_chains_consultation</a>, published on 22 September 2020, committed to taking forwards an ambitious package of measures to strengthen the Act’s transparency legislation, including: extending the reporting requirement to public bodies with a budget of £36 million or more; mandating the specific reporting topics statements must cover; and requiring organisations to publish their statement on the Government registry.</p><p> </p><p>The Government has also committed to introduce financial penalties for organisations who fail to meet their statutory obligations to publish annual modern slavery statements. These measures require primary legislation and will be introduced when parliamentary time allows.</p><p> </p><p>The Government registry was launched in March 2021 as a key tool to monitor and improve compliance with Section 54. Since launch, over 9,800 modern slavery statements covering over 32,800 organisations have been voluntarily submitted.</p> answering member constituency Derbyshire Dales answering member printed Miss Sarah Dines question first answered 03/04/2023 09:54:51 answering member 4816 label Biography information for Miss Sarah Dines
tabling member	4754 label Biography information for Peter Gibson

1311087

registered interest
date	21/04/2021
answering body	Home Office
answering dept id	1
answering dept short name	Home Office
answering dept sort name	Home Office
hansard heading	Modern Slavery Act 2015
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 19 April 2021 to Question 176048 on Modern Slavery Act 2015, when she plans to bring forward legislative proposals to update the Modern Slavery Act 2015.
tabling member constituency	Totnes
tabling member printed	Anthony Mangnall
uin	185494
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 29/04/2021 answer text <p>It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Dissolution.</p> answering member constituency Louth and Horncastle answering member printed Victoria Atkins question first answered 29/04/2021 12:43:00 answering member 4399 label Biography information for Victoria Atkins
tabling member	4762 label Biography information for Anthony Mangnall

1306350

registered interest
date	25/03/2021
answering body	Home Office
answering dept id	1
answering dept short name	Home Office
answering dept sort name	Home Office
hansard heading	Modern Slavery Act 2015
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when she plans to bring forward proposals to update the Modern Slavery Act 2015.
tabling member constituency	Totnes
tabling member printed	Anthony Mangnall
uin	176048
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/04/2021 answer text <p>The Government is committed to continuously strengthening our approach to modern slavery and building on the world-leading legislation introduced in 2015. <br> <br> In 2018, the Home Office commissioned an Independent Review of the Modern Slavery Act to look at where the Act has worked well and where it could be more effective. The Government published a detailed response to the Review and accepted the majority of the recommendations (see <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/government-response-to-the-independent-review-of-the-modern-slavery-act" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/government-response-to-the-independent-review-of-the-modern-slavery-act</a>).</p><p>As part of its response to the Independent Review, the Home Office conducted a public consultation on potential changes to the Modern Slavery Act’s transparency legislation (section 54 of the Modern Slavery Act). As a result, the government committed to introducing an ambitious package of measures to strengthen and future-proof the legislation. In particular, the Government has committed to extending the reporting requirement to public bodies with a budget of £36 million or more; mandating the specific reporting topics that statements must cover; requiring statements to be published on the new Government-run registry for modern slavery statements; setting a single reporting deadline; and introducing financial penalties for organisations that fail to meet their obligations under section 54 of the Modern Slavery Act. These measures require primary legislation and will be introduced when parliamentary time allows.</p><p><br> The Home Secretary announced a New Plan for Immigration on 24 March, which is available at the gov.uk website. This included a range of proposals on modern slavery. The New Plan for Immigration consultation is now open, after which the Government will look to introduce relevant legislation.</p><p>The proposals included a commitment to review the 2014 Modern Slavery Strategy. A revised strategy will allow us to build on the considerable progress we have made to date, adapt our approach to the evolving nature of these terrible crimes, and continue our international leadership in tackling modern slavery.</p> answering member constituency Louth and Horncastle answering member printed Victoria Atkins question first answered 19/04/2021 16:11:54 answering member 4399 label Biography information for Victoria Atkins
tabling member	4762 label Biography information for Anthony Mangnall

1288391

registered interest
date	22/02/2021
answering body	Home Office
answering dept id	1
answering dept short name	Home Office
answering dept sort name	Home Office
hansard heading	Modern Slavery Act 2015
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the effectiveness of the Modern Slavery Act 2015; and what action, if any, they are taking as a result of any such assessment.
tabling member printed	Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth
uin	HL13377
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/03/2021 answer text <p>The UK is regarded as a world-leader for its response to modern slavery. The UK response is underpinned by the Modern Slavery Strategy 2014 and the Modern Slavery Act 2015, the first legislation of its kind.</p><p>In July 2018, the Government commissioned an Independent Review of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 led by Baroness Butler-Sloss, the then Rt. Hon. Frank Field and the Rt. Hon. Maria Miller MP. The Review considered where the Act is working well and where implementation can be strengthened. The final Review made 80 recommendations across four themes:</p><ul><li>The Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner;</li><li>Transparency in Supply Chains;</li><li>Independent Child Trafficking Guardians (renamed from Independent Child Trafficking Advocates in line with the recommendations of the Independent Review);</li><li>Legal application of the Modern Slavery Act.</li></ul><p>The Government response to the Independent Review was published on 9 July 2019, accepting or partially accepting the majority of the Review’s recommendations.</p><p>Key work that we have taken forward in response to the Independent Review includes:</p><ul><li>In October 2019 we appointed a HMG Modern Slavery and Migration Envoy to drive forward global progress.</li><li>Following a public consultation, the Government committed on 22 September 2020 to taking forward an ambitious package of changes to strengthen and future-proof the Modern Slavery Act’s transparency legislation including extending the reporting requirement to public bodies with a budget of £36 million or more.</li><li>In January 2021, the Government announced plans to introduce financial penalties for organisations who fail to meet their statutory obligations to publish annual modern slavery statements under the Modern Slavery Act 2015. These measures require legislative change and will be introduced when parliamentary time allows.</li><li>Creating a free online central reporting service for businesses’ modern slavery statements, to make it easier for consumers, NGOs and investors to scrutinise the action that businesses are taking to prevent modern slavery in their supply chains. We are at the final stages of work to launch this service.</li><li>Work to further roll out Independent Child Trafficking Guardians which will continue to be informed by the Independent Review recommendations.</li><li>We have put in place a MoU between the Home Office and the Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner to clarify roles and responsibilities.</li></ul> answering member printed Baroness Williams of Trafford question first answered 08/03/2021 16:52:44 answering member 4311 label Biography information for Baroness Williams of Trafford
tabling member	4282 label Biography information for Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth

1283040

registered interest
date	02/02/2021
answering body	Home Office
answering dept id	1
answering dept short name	Home Office
answering dept sort name	Home Office
hansard heading	Modern Slavery Act 2015
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent assessment he has made of the potential effectiveness of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 in increasing transparency of the future cobalt supply chain.
tabling member constituency	Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross
tabling member printed	Jamie Stone
uin	147954
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/02/2021 answer text <p>In 2020, the UK Government funded NGO PACT to conduct a series of workshops to review the prevalence of modern slavery in mines, and international commercial awareness of these issues. In FY 20/21, the UK has continued to fund programmes, including through PACT, to raise awareness of the risks of, and solutions to, modern slavery in supply chains for a range of minerals.</p><p>Section 54 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 requires certain businesses in all sectors, including the mining and electronics sectors, with a turnover of £36m or more to report annually on the steps they have taken to prevent modern slavery in their operations and supply chains.</p><p>The prevalence of modern slavery and complexity of global supply chains means that it is highly unlikely that any sector or company is immune from the risks of modern slavery. The Government therefore encourages businesses to take a targeted approach to preventing modern slavery based on where their risks are most salient and severe, in line with the UN Guiding Principles on business and human rights. The annual reporting requirement contained in section 54 is also designed to encourage companies to demonstrate year on year progress in their actions to mitigate their modern slavery risks.</p><p>To increase transparency and accelerate progress to tackle modern slavery, the Government recently announced an ambitious package of changes to strengthen and future-proof section 54, including a requirement for organisations to report against specific topics, such as due diligence, the introduction of financial penalties for organisations which fail to meet their statutory obligation to publish a statement, and the creation of a Government modern slavery statement registry to make all statements available in one place.</p><p>The new Government modern slavery registry, which is due to launch early this year, will provide increased visibility of the action organisations are taking to prevent modern slavery and will empower investors, consumers and civil society to scrutinise how organisations are developing and improving their response over time.</p><p>These measures, including requiring organisations to publish their statement on the Government modern slavery registry, require primary legislation and will be introduced when parliamentary time allows.</p> answering member constituency Louth and Horncastle answering member printed Victoria Atkins question first answered 08/02/2021 16:22:27 answering member 4399 label Biography information for Victoria Atkins
tabling member	4612 label Biography information for Jamie Stone

1257442

registered interest
date	01/12/2020
answering body	Home Office
answering dept id	1
answering dept short name	Home Office
answering dept sort name	Home Office
hansard heading	Modern Slavery Act 2015
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Williams of Trafford on 18 November (HL9994), how many (1) complaints related to non-compliance of section 54 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 they have received, and (2) subsequent court injunctions the Home Secretary has applied for.
tabling member printed	Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton
uin	HL10975
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/12/2020 answer text <p>Section 54 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 established the UK as the first country in the world to require businesses to report annually on steps taken to prevent modern slavery in their operations and supply chains. To comply with the requirement, statements must be:</p><ul><li>Published annually via a prominent link on the organisation’s homepage;</li><li>Approved by the Board of Directors or equivalent;</li><li>Signed by a Director or equivalent.To assess compliance with the legal requirements, the Home Office contracted the Business &amp; Human Rights Resource Centre (BHRRC) to undertake an audit on the Home Office’s behalf. The audit findings on levels of compliance were published on 17 September 2020 in the Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner’s annual report (available here: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/independent-anti-slavery-commissioners-annual-report-2019-to-2020" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/independent-anti-slavery-commissioners-annual-report-2019-to-2020</a>).</li></ul><p>The injunctive power in the legislation has not been used to date. The Government has committed to strengthening the legislation and our response to the transparency in supply chains consultation, published on 22 September 2020, announced an ambitious package of changes to section 54, including introducing mandatory reporting topics, a single reporting deadline and a central Government-run registry, to enable Government and others to continuously monitor compliance. These measures require primary legislation and will be introduced when parliamentary time allows.</p><p>In the meantime, we will be asking organisations to start preparing for the new requirements, including by publishing their statements on the new Government-run modern slavery registry, which is due to launch in 2021. The new registry will enhance transparency by making modern slavery statements available in one place for the first time. It will provide greater visibility of the steps organisations are taking to prevent modern slavery in their global supply chains and empower investors, consumers and civil society to scrutinise action and monitor progress.</p><p>The Government has also committed to considering enforcement options in line with the development of the Single Enforcement Body for employment rights, led by BEIS.</p> answering member printed Baroness Williams of Trafford grouped question UIN HL10976 question first answered 15/12/2020 16:24:11 answering member 4311 label Biography information for Baroness Williams of Trafford attachment 1 file name Modern Slavery - Annual Report - 2019-20.pdf title Modern Slavery Annual Report - 2019-20
tabling member	1544 label Biography information for Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton

1257443

registered interest
date	01/12/2020
answering body	Home Office
answering dept id	1
answering dept short name	Home Office
answering dept sort name	Home Office
hansard heading	Modern Slavery Act 2015
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Williams of Trafford on 18 November (HL9994), when they plan to implement the changes to strengthen and future proof transparency of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 highlighted in their response to the Independent Review of the Modern Slavery Act, published on 22 September.
tabling member printed	Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton
uin	HL10976
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/12/2020 answer text <p>Section 54 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 established the UK as the first country in the world to require businesses to report annually on steps taken to prevent modern slavery in their operations and supply chains. To comply with the requirement, statements must be:</p><ul><li>Published annually via a prominent link on the organisation’s homepage;</li><li>Approved by the Board of Directors or equivalent;</li><li>Signed by a Director or equivalent.To assess compliance with the legal requirements, the Home Office contracted the Business &amp; Human Rights Resource Centre (BHRRC) to undertake an audit on the Home Office’s behalf. The audit findings on levels of compliance were published on 17 September 2020 in the Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner’s annual report (available here: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/independent-anti-slavery-commissioners-annual-report-2019-to-2020" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/independent-anti-slavery-commissioners-annual-report-2019-to-2020</a>).</li></ul><p>The injunctive power in the legislation has not been used to date. The Government has committed to strengthening the legislation and our response to the transparency in supply chains consultation, published on 22 September 2020, announced an ambitious package of changes to section 54, including introducing mandatory reporting topics, a single reporting deadline and a central Government-run registry, to enable Government and others to continuously monitor compliance. These measures require primary legislation and will be introduced when parliamentary time allows.</p><p>In the meantime, we will be asking organisations to start preparing for the new requirements, including by publishing their statements on the new Government-run modern slavery registry, which is due to launch in 2021. The new registry will enhance transparency by making modern slavery statements available in one place for the first time. It will provide greater visibility of the steps organisations are taking to prevent modern slavery in their global supply chains and empower investors, consumers and civil society to scrutinise action and monitor progress.</p><p>The Government has also committed to considering enforcement options in line with the development of the Single Enforcement Body for employment rights, led by BEIS.</p> answering member printed Baroness Williams of Trafford grouped question UIN HL10975 question first answered 15/12/2020 16:24:11 answering member 4311 label Biography information for Baroness Williams of Trafford attachment 1 file name Modern Slavery - Annual Report - 2019-20.pdf title Modern Slavery Annual Report - 2019-20
tabling member	1544 label Biography information for Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton

1249003

registered interest
date	04/11/2020
answering body	Home Office
answering dept id	1
answering dept short name	Home Office
answering dept sort name	Home Office
hansard heading	Modern Slavery Act 2015
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the effectiveness of section 54 of the Modern Slavery Act.
tabling member printed	Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton
uin	HL9994
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/11/2020 answer text <p>The landmark transparency provisions contained in section 54 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 established the UK as the first country in the world to require businesses to report annually on their work to prevent and address modern slavery in their operations and supply chains.</p><p>Under the current provisions, if a commercial organisation does not comply with the duty to provide a modern slavery statement, the Home Secretary can apply for a court injunction which mandates compliance. The Government has also committed to considering enforcement options in line with the ongoing development of the Single Enforcement Body for employment rights, led by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy.</p><p>However, if someone has concerns about an organisation’s modern slavery statement they could write to the Board of Directors (or equivalent) as the Act requires a modern slavery statement to be approved by the Board and signed by a Director (or equivalent) to ensure senior level accountability for modern slavery. The Government expects an organisation’s senior leadership to take responsibility for their company’s modern slavery statement to ensure they are a fair reflection of the circumstances and the action they are taking.</p><p>The Independent Review of the Modern Slavery Act, which was commissioned in 2018 and delivered its final report in 2019, credited section 54 with making modern slavery “a business-critical issue” and increasing “board-level scrutiny and engagement.”</p><p>The Independent Review also made recommendations designed to improve the effectiveness of the Act’s transparency provisions. The Government accepted the majority of the Review’s recommendations and on 9 July 2019 the Home Office launched a public consultation seeking views on proposals to strengthen the Act’s transparency legislation.</p><p>Following widespread support from a broad coalition of business, civil society and public sector respondents, the Government response, published on 22 September 2020, committed to taking forwards an ambitious package of changes to strengthen and future-proof transparency, including:</p><ul><li>Extending the reporting requirement to public bodies with a budget of £36 million or more;</li><li>Mandating the specific reporting topics statements must cover;</li><li>Requiring organisations to publish their statement on the new Government digital reporting service;</li><li>Setting a single reporting deadline by which all modern slavery statements must be published.</li></ul><p>Addressing modern slavery risks is a complex, long-term task, and the new measures are designed to incentivise organisations to demonstrate year-on-year progress in key areas and take targeted action based on where their risks are highest.</p> answering member printed Baroness Williams of Trafford grouped question UIN HL9993 question first answered 18/11/2020 17:46:30 answering member 4311 label Biography information for Baroness Williams of Trafford
tabling member	1544 label Biography information for Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton

1238891

registered interest
date	29/09/2020
answering body	Home Office
answering dept id	1
answering dept short name	Home Office
answering dept sort name	Home Office
hansard heading	Modern Slavery Act 2015
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the 2019 Independent review of the Modern Slavery Act, what plans she has to introduce penalties for non-compliance with Section 54 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015.
tabling member constituency	Totnes
tabling member printed	Anthony Mangnall
uin	97034
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/10/2020 answer text <p>The Government accepted the majority of the recommendations of the Independent Review of the Modern Slavery Act. The details are set out in the Government response to the Independent Review, published on 9 July 2019 at www.gov.uk/government/publications/government-response-to-the-independent-review-of-the-modern-slavery-act.</p><p> </p><p>As part of its response to the Independent Review, the Home Office launched a public consultation on potential changes to the Modern Slavery Act’s transparency legislation on 9 July 2019. The Government response to the consultation, published on 22 September 2020, committed to introducing an ambitious package of measures to strengthen and future-proof the legislation, including:</p><p>extending the reporting requirement to public bodies with a budget of £36 million or more;</p><p>mandating the specific reporting topics that statements must cover</p><p>requiring statements to be published on the new Government digital reporting service</p><p>setting a single reporting deadline; and</p><p>taking forwards options for penalties for non-compliance in line with the ongoing development of the Single Enforcement Body for employment rights.</p><p> </p><p>These measures require legislative change and as such will be introduced when parliamentary time allows.</p> answering member constituency Louth and Horncastle answering member printed Victoria Atkins grouped question UIN 97035 97036 97037 question first answered 07/10/2020 11:47:09 answering member 4399 label Biography information for Victoria Atkins
tabling member	4762 label Biography information for Anthony Mangnall

1141102

registered interest
date	22/07/2019
answering body	Home Office
answering dept id	1
answering dept short name	Home Office
answering dept sort name	Home Office
hansard heading	Modern Slavery Act 2015
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what (a) primary and (b) secondary legislation will be required as a result of the Government's response to the review of the Modern Slavery Act 2015; and if he will make a statement.
tabling member constituency	Gedling
tabling member printed	Vernon Coaker
uin	280138
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/09/2019 answer text <p>In response to the Independent Review of the Modern Slavery Act, on the 9 July the Home Office launched a public consultation to gather views on proposals to strengthen section 54 of the Modern Slavery Act. The proposals under consideration – including extending the reporting requirement to public sector organisations, requiring organisations to report on specific topics and introducing a new civil penalty regime – would require changes to primary legislation. Following the consultation, the Home Office will make any necessary legislative changes as soon as Parliamentary time allows.</p><p>The full Government response to the Independent Review of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 was published in July 2019 and is available via the link below.</p><p> </p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/government-response-to-the-independent-review-of-the-modern-slavery-act%20" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/government-response-to-the-independent-review-of-the-modern-slavery-act</a></p> answering member constituency Louth and Horncastle answering member printed Victoria Atkins question first answered 05/09/2019 16:20:30 answering member 4399 label Biography information for Victoria Atkins
tabling member	360 label Biography information for Lord Coaker