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<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 & 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>
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