Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the Government response to House of Lords Modern Slavery Act 2015 Committee, Report of Session 2024-25, The Modern Slavery Act 2015: Becoming World-Leading Again, what progress she has made on assessing the best ways to prevent environmental harms, modern slavery and human and labour rights abuses in both private and public sector supply chains, including effective due diligence rules.

In the recently published Trade Strategy, the Government announced a review of its approach to Responsible Business Conduct policy. The review will consider the effectiveness of the current UK regime and alternative means of supporting responsible business practices, including consideration of mandatory human rights and environmental due diligence laws and import controls on goods made by forced labour. The Department for Business and Trade will engage regularly with stakeholders to develop findings and provide updates.

Under Section 54 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015, businesses who operate in the UK and who have a turnover of £36 million or more are required to report annually on how they have prevented slavery in their operations and supply chains. Alongside the broader Responsible Business Conduct policy review, we are considering how we can strengthen Section 54 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015, including: the reporting requirements, the turnover threshold, and penalties for non-compliance. We will set out the next steps more broadly in due course. Significant long-term reform will take time, and in the interim the Home Office published updated Section 54 statutory guidance in March. This new guidance is more comprehensive, practical and ambitious – calling on businesses to go further and faster.