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1139280

registered interest
date	16/07/2019
answering body	Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept id	13
answering dept short name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept sort name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
hansard heading	Deep Sea Mining
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the potential environmental effects of deep-sea mining.
tabling member constituency	Bristol East
tabling member printed	Kerry McCarthy
uin	277681
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 29/07/2019 answer text <p>Defra is investigating the environmental effects of deep-sea mining through a cross-Government working group including Cefas, the Joint Nature Conservation Committee, the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO). The working group is supported by input from the National Oceanography Centre, Natural History Museum and British Geological Survey who are involved in a number of ongoing academic projects considering the impacts of deep sea mining. In addition, FCO and Defra commissioned a workshop in February 2019 which brought together UK universities, industry and consultancies involved in the assessment of deep sea mining activities, to share information, progress and research findings. The outputs of these discussions are being used to inform the UK’s input into the development of regulations, standards and guidelines at the International Seabed Authority.</p> answering member constituency Suffolk Coastal answering member printed Dr Thérèse Coffey question first answered 29/07/2019 16:38:53 answering member 4098 label Biography information for Dr Thérèse Coffey
tabling member	1491 label Biography information for Kerry McCarthy

1137132

registered interest
date	05/07/2019
answering body	Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
answering dept id	201
answering dept short name	Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
answering dept sort name	Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
hansard heading	Supermarkets: Conditions of Employment
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment the he has made of the merits of the application of Oxfam’s supermarket scorecard on human suffering in global supply chains for his Department’s policies.
tabling member constituency	Bristol East
tabling member printed	Kerry McCarthy
uin	273754
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/07/2019 answer text <p>The Government welcomes campaigns such as Oxfam’s ‘Behind the Price’ with the supermarket scorecard that is a part of it and which includes scores for the fair treatment of women.</p><p> </p><p>The Government recognises the positive competitive environment which benchmarks of this type help to create, whereby businesses aim to be at the top of an annual ranking. At the same time, such benchmarks enable consumers, investors, civil society and regulators to challenge those businesses who could improve, using this evidence base.</p><p> </p><p>The retail sector recognises it has a responsibility on these issues and is pioneering responsible sourcing practices. The Government welcomes industry initiatives in this context such as the British Retail Consortium’s ‘Better Retail, Better World’. The Government is determined to eliminate exploitation of workers in the food supply chain in the UK. The Modern Slavery Act 2015 increased specialist support for victims and it requires businesses to be transparent about their supply chains. The Government response to the independent review of the legislation will set out how it intends to strengthen this approach further.</p> answering member constituency Rochester and Strood answering member printed Kelly Tolhurst grouped question UIN 273756 273757 question first answered 15/07/2019 13:33:26 answering member 4487 label Biography information for Kelly Tolhurst
tabling member	1491 label Biography information for Kerry McCarthy

1137133

registered interest
date	05/07/2019
answering body	Home Office
answering dept id	1
answering dept short name	Home Office
answering dept sort name	Home Office
hansard heading	Business: Slavery
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps the Government is taking in (a) the UK and (b) overseas to tackle (a) working conditions and (b) exploitation in the food supply chain.
tabling member constituency	Bristol East
tabling member printed	Kerry McCarthy
uin	273755
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/07/2019 answer text <p>Under Section 54 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015, large businesses with a turnover of £36m or more are required to publish annual modern slavery statements detailing the steps they are taking to prevent modern slavery in their UK operations and global supply chains. The requirement applies to all sectors, including agriculture. The Government is committed to doing more and will shortly be launching a consultation to strengthen the transparency in supply chains legislation, making it harder for companies to avoid scrutiny.</p><p>The Home Office regularly engages with businesses across a range of sectors to accelerate progress in tackling modern slavery in global supply chains.</p><p>The Gangmasters Labour and Abuse Authority (GLAA) licenses UK businesses which provide workers to the farming, food processing and shellfish gathering sectors to make sure they meet the employment standards required by law; and carries out inspections and enforcement activity. The GLAA also partner with businesses such as Sainsbury’s to deliver training sessions to their suppliers, equipping them to better identify and manage risks in their supply chains.</p> answering member constituency Louth and Horncastle answering member printed Victoria Atkins question first answered 15/07/2019 11:09:26 answering member 4399 label Biography information for Victoria Atkins
tabling member	1491 label Biography information for Kerry McCarthy

1137134

registered interest
date	05/07/2019
answering body	Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
answering dept id	201
answering dept short name	Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
answering dept sort name	Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
hansard heading	Supermarkets: Conditions of Employment
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he is taking to support supermarkets to publish a human rights strategy for workers in the food supply chain in the UK.
tabling member constituency	Bristol East
tabling member printed	Kerry McCarthy
uin	273756
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/07/2019 answer text <p>The Government welcomes campaigns such as Oxfam’s ‘Behind the Price’ with the supermarket scorecard that is a part of it and which includes scores for the fair treatment of women.</p><p> </p><p>The Government recognises the positive competitive environment which benchmarks of this type help to create, whereby businesses aim to be at the top of an annual ranking. At the same time, such benchmarks enable consumers, investors, civil society and regulators to challenge those businesses who could improve, using this evidence base.</p><p> </p><p>The retail sector recognises it has a responsibility on these issues and is pioneering responsible sourcing practices. The Government welcomes industry initiatives in this context such as the British Retail Consortium’s ‘Better Retail, Better World’. The Government is determined to eliminate exploitation of workers in the food supply chain in the UK. The Modern Slavery Act 2015 increased specialist support for victims and it requires businesses to be transparent about their supply chains. The Government response to the independent review of the legislation will set out how it intends to strengthen this approach further.</p> answering member constituency Rochester and Strood answering member printed Kelly Tolhurst grouped question UIN 273754 273757 question first answered 15/07/2019 13:33:26 answering member 4487 label Biography information for Kelly Tolhurst
tabling member	1491 label Biography information for Kerry McCarthy

1137135

registered interest
date	05/07/2019
answering body	Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
answering dept id	201
answering dept short name	Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
answering dept sort name	Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
hansard heading	Supermarkets: Conditions of Employment
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps the Government has taken in the last year to help ensure women workers in the supermarket food supply chain are treated fairly.
tabling member constituency	Bristol East
tabling member printed	Kerry McCarthy
uin	273757
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/07/2019 answer text <p>The Government welcomes campaigns such as Oxfam’s ‘Behind the Price’ with the supermarket scorecard that is a part of it and which includes scores for the fair treatment of women.</p><p> </p><p>The Government recognises the positive competitive environment which benchmarks of this type help to create, whereby businesses aim to be at the top of an annual ranking. At the same time, such benchmarks enable consumers, investors, civil society and regulators to challenge those businesses who could improve, using this evidence base.</p><p> </p><p>The retail sector recognises it has a responsibility on these issues and is pioneering responsible sourcing practices. The Government welcomes industry initiatives in this context such as the British Retail Consortium’s ‘Better Retail, Better World’. The Government is determined to eliminate exploitation of workers in the food supply chain in the UK. The Modern Slavery Act 2015 increased specialist support for victims and it requires businesses to be transparent about their supply chains. The Government response to the independent review of the legislation will set out how it intends to strengthen this approach further.</p> answering member constituency Rochester and Strood answering member printed Kelly Tolhurst grouped question UIN 273754 273756 question first answered 15/07/2019 13:33:26 answering member 4487 label Biography information for Kelly Tolhurst
tabling member	1491 label Biography information for Kerry McCarthy

1135974

registered interest
date	01/07/2019
answering body	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
answering dept id	16
answering dept short name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
answering dept sort name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
hansard heading	Guatemala: Indigenous Peoples
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will make representations to his counterpart in the Guatemalan Government in response to reports of threats against human rights defender Domingo Vasquez and other members of the Nuevo Dia Ch'orti Indigenous Association in Guatemala.
tabling member constituency	Bristol East
tabling member printed	Kerry McCarthy
uin	271432
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/07/2019 answer text <p>The UK is concerned by reports of Human Rights Defenders (HRDs) facing frequent intimidation and violence in Guatemala. Officials at our Embassy in Guatemala met with Peace Brigades International (PBI) in April to discuss the threats against Mr Vasquez and the Nuevo Dia Ch'orti Indigenous Association (CCCND). Since then the Embassy has been following the issue and continues to engage with non-governmental organisations like PBI, with the Guatemalan Government and the private sector, bilaterally and through like-minded groups of donors, to promote consultation with indigenous populations and better protection for HRDs.</p> answering member constituency Rutland and Melton answering member printed Sir Alan Duncan question first answered 04/07/2019 06:59:30 answering member 343 label Biography information for Sir Alan Duncan
tabling member	1491 label Biography information for Kerry McCarthy