Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the findings of the Local Authority Pension Fund Forum report entitled Understanding Investment Risk in the Mining Sector, including on the 2015 Mariana Dam Disaster.

The Local Authority Pension Fund Forum report highlights the need for responsible mineral supply chains. The UK works through several international mechanisms including supporting the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development's (OECD) Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Mineral Supply Chains which enables businesses to operate responsibly in conflict affected and high-risk areas. The UK is a member of the European Partnership for Responsible Minerals and the Voluntary Principles Initiative for Security and Human Rights which promote a set of principles to guide companies in the extractives sector to maintain the safety and security of their operations in a manner that reduces the risk of human rights abuses including in local communities.