Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to endorse the Global Charter for Fisheries Transparency,  or to take other steps to end slavery in the UK supply chain, particularly given the fall in the number of inspections of seafood coming into the UK since Brexit.

This Government supports the principles underpinning the Global Charter for Fisheries Transparency but has no current plans to endorse it. This Government is already leading in areas such as beneficial ownership transparency and its focus is on comprehensively improving transparency.

The Government is committed to tackling all forms of labour exploitation, ensuring the protection of workers and has ratified the International Labour Organisation’s Work in Fisheries Convention 188.

Defra works closely with competent authorities to ensure illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing documentary checks are completed at the border and appropriate verifications are conducted on seafood imports to the UK.