Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of introducing a human rights and environmental due diligence law to increase protection for (a) environmental and (b) workers' rights.

The Government both encourages and supports the mostly voluntary, business-led, approach to due diligence; as set out in international frameworks such as the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Guidelines on Multinational Enterprises. Additionally, the Environment Act has introduced world-leading due diligence legislation, in order to tackle illegal deforestation in UK supply chains.