Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing legislation on (a) human rights and (b) environmental due diligence for businesses; and if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of this on (i) the resilience of UK supply chains and (ii) the livelihoods of global producers.

The UK has a range of measures in place to promote responsible business conduct. In the Trade Strategy, the Government launched a review into the UK’s approach to responsible business conduct, focused on tackling human rights and labour abuses and environmental harms in global supply chains.

The review will be a neutral, objective appraisal of policy, led by departmental officials. It will consider the effectiveness of the UK’s current regime and alternative measures to support responsible business practices, including mandatory human rights and environmental due diligence. It will have due regard to the effectiveness of any measures on supply chain resilience and the livelihoods of global producers.