Asked by: Afzal Khan (Labour - Manchester Rusholme)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment his Department has made of whether goods produced by the slave labour of Uyghur Muslims in Xinjiang are present in Government procurement contracts.
Answered by Jacob Rees-Mogg
HM Government is committed to preventing modern slavery occurring in public sector supply chains. The Cabinet Office has published commercial policy and guidance setting out the steps that all Government departments must take to identify and mitigate modern slavery and labour abuse risks throughout the commercial life cycle - focusing on the areas of highest risk. This policy is mandatory for all Central Government Departments, their Executive Agencies and Non-Departmental Public Bodies.
The Government has taken a number of measures to help ensure that no British organisations are profiting from or contributing to human rights violations against the Uyghurs or other minorities. We have introduced new guidance for UK businesses on the risks of conducting business in Xinjiang, implemented enhanced export controls, and committed to introducing new procurement guidance for Government bodies as well as financial penalties for non-compliance with section 54 of the Modern Slavery Act.
The Procurement Bill, which was recently introduced to Parliament, will strengthen the approach to exclude suppliers from bidding for public contracts where there is clear evidence of their involvement in forced labour or other Modern Slavery practices.