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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.</p><p>In March 2021, the Government
launched the modern slavery statement registry to radically enhance transparency by
bringing together modern slavery statements on a single platform. So far, over 6,740
modern slavery statements covering over 22,400 organisations have been submitted to
the registry on a voluntary basis.</p><p>In 2019, the Home Office contracted the Business
& Human Rights Resource Centre (BHRRC) to undertake an audit of compliance with
Section 54 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015. The high-level findings of this audit were
published on 17 September 2020 in the Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner’s annual
report (available on gov.uk)</p><p>To improve the quality of reporting and compliance
even further, the Government has committed to introduce a package of measures to strengthen
section 54. This includes the introduction of financial penalties for non-compliance
and a requirement for organisations to publish their statements on the Government’s
modern slavery statement registry which will enable Government to monitor and drive
compliance with the legislation.</p><p>Businesses’ response so far is demonstrating
the registry’s positive impact by providing greater visibility of the steps organisations
are taking to prevent modern slavery in their global supply chains and empowering
investors, consumers and civil society to scrutinise the action organisations are
taking to prevent modern slavery.</p>
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