Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what steps she is taking to ensure that funding from the public purse provided to the International Finance Corporation is not used to support companies benefiting from forced labour.

The International Finance Corporation (IFC)'s Performance Standard 2 defines IFC clients' responsibilities for managing labour and working conditions, and precludes the IFC from supporting clients which employ forced labour. People affected by IFC projects can register complaints through the independent Office of the Compliance Advisor Ombudsmen. The UK has been working with the IFC and other development finance institutions to develop stronger safeguards to reduce the risk of forced labour in supply chains.