Question to the Home Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon on 18 March (HL2309), what action they will take against any company that has published an annual statement as required under section 54 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 but has been accused of profiting from Uyghur slave labour.

Section 54 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 made the UK the first country to require large businesses to report annually on steps taken to prevent modern slavery, including forced labour, in their operations and supply chains.

The Act does not require organisations to certify that their supply chains are slavery free but asks businesses to be transparent about their risks and measures taken to mitigate these. To improve reporting quality, we are developing a government-run registry of modern slavery statements to make it easier for consumers, investors and civil society to hold businesses to account. We have also consulted on proposals to strengthen the Modern Slavery Act and increase transparency and improve compliance.

The Government is aware of the risks of forced labour in Xinjiang impacting on supply chains of businesses with a footprint in the UK and is discussing this issue with businesses, as well as standard setting and industry bodies which bring together business and civil society organisations. The UK Government expressed its concerns about China’s systematic human rights violations in Xinjiang, including credible and growing reports of forced labour, during the recent UN Human Rights Council.