Question to the Department for International Development:

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what support her Department has provided to (a) charities and (b) humanitarian organisations in the eradication of (i) poverty and (ii) slavery in cocoa farms throughout the world.

Creating productive jobs and improving working conditions is critical to poverty reduction. The Department for International Development (DFID) is a long-term supporter of the International Social and Environmental Accreditation and Labelling Alliance (ISEAL Alliance), the umbrella organisation for standards systems such as Fairtrade. DFID also supports the Ethical Trading Initiative, a multi-stakeholder body working with the UK food industry, their suppliers, trade unions and charities to implement International Labour Organisation standards in global value chains, including cocoa value chains. Our work on responsible investments focuses on a range of priorities, including improved conditions in the agriculture sector.

DFID is also at the forefront of the UK’s international efforts to implement the Prime Minister’s 2017 “Call to Action to end Forced Labour, Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking”. This is a crucial part of our efforts to achieve Sustainable Development Goal 8 on ending modern slavery. In 2017 the UK Government committed to doubling aid spending to tackle modern slavery to £150 million. We have exceeded this goal, with UK aid committed now exceeding £200 million.