Asked by: Lord Jackson of Peterborough (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the government of Uzbekistan about the imprisonment of Alisher Tursunov, and what diplomatic steps they are taking to secure his release.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)
The UK is committed to standing up for Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB) globally. No one should live in fear because of what they do or do not believe in. Our Embassy in Tashkent regularly raises human rights with the Uzbek authorities and maintains a dialogue with local human rights groups. In Uzbekistan's most recent UN Universal Periodic Review, the UK raised concerns over FoRB amongst other human rights issues and continues to consider when is most impactful and appropriate to raise individual cases.
Asked by: Edward Leigh (Conservative - Gainsborough)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions she has had with the Government of Uzbekistan on the (a) treatment of Christians and (b) reports of (i) arbitrary arrests and (ii) forced marriage in that country; and what steps she is taking with international partners to promote religious freedom in that country.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK is committed to championing Freedom of Religion or Belief for all. We highlight this issue at the UN, G7 and as a member of the Article 18 Alliance. Our Embassy in Tashkent regularly raises human rights with the authorities and maintains a dialogue with local human rights groups. In Uzbekistan's most recent UN Universal Periodic Review, the UK raised concerns over freedom of religion or belief amongst other human rights issues. We continue to seek opportunities to raise concerns at the UN and other international fora.
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how much their Department has spent on translating documents into languages other than (a) English and (b) other native UK languages in each year since 2023; and what these languages were.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The Ministry of Justice has a statutory duty to provide Language Services to enable access to justice for users for whom English is not their first language and those who require visual and tactile services, under the provision of the Equality Act.
Language Service needs and spend are assessed to ensure these services offer good value for money for taxpayers while maintaining high standards of service delivery.
In FY 23/24 the total contracted spend was £915,037.52.
In FY 24/25 the total contracted spend was £1,003,283.32.
In FY 25/26 so far, the total contracted spend is £256,707.82.
The languages in this data exclude written translations into English, Welsh and Braille.
The languages translated into from English (United Kingdom) are:
Albanian (Albania)
Amharic (Ethiopia)
Arabic (Classical)
Arabic (Egypt)
Arabic (Modern Standard) Middle Eastern
Arabic (Modern Standard) North African
Arabic (Morocco)
Armenian (Armenia)
Bangla (Bangladesh)
Bosnian (Latin, Bosnia and Herzegovina)
Bulgarian (Bulgaria)
Burmese
Burmese (Myanmar)
Catalan (Catalan)
Chinese (Simplified)
Chinese (Traditional)
Croatian (Latin, Bosnia and Herzegovina)
Czech (Czech Republic)
Danish (Denmark)
Dari (Afghanistan)
Dutch (Netherlands)
Estonian (Estonia)
Filipino (Philippines)
Finnish (Finland)
French (Belgium)
French (France)
Georgian (Georgia)
German (Austria)
German (Germany)
Greek (Greece)
Gujarati (India)
Hebrew (Israel)
Hindi (India)
Hungarian (Hungary)
Icelandic (Iceland)
Indonesian (Indonesia)
Italian (Italy)
Japanese (Japan)
Kinyarwanda (Rwanda)
Kiswahili (Kenya)
Korean (Korea)
Kurdish (Bahdini)
Kurdish (Sorani)
Latvian (Latvia)
Lingala (Congo DRC)
Lithuanian (Lithuania)
Macedonian (Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia)
Malay (Malaysia)
Malayalam (India)
Maltese (Malta)
Mirpuri (Central Asia)
Mongolian (Cyrillic, Mongolia)
Nepali (Nepal)
Norwegian, Bokmål (Norway)
Norwegian, Nynorsk (Norway)
Oromo (Ethiopia)
PahariPotwari (Central Asia)
Pashto (Afghanistan)
Persian (Afghanistan)
Persian (Iran)
Polish (Poland)
Portuguese (Brazil)
Portuguese (Portugal)
Punjabi (India)
Punjabi (Pakistan)
Romanian (Romania)
Romany (Europe)
Russian (Russia)
Serbian (Cyrillic, Serbia)
Serbian (Latin, Serbia)
Shona (Latin, Zimbabwe)
Sinhala (Sri Lanka)
Slovak (Slovakia)
Slovenian (Slovenia)
Somali (Somalia)
Spanish (Argentina)
Spanish (Latin America)
Spanish (Mexico)
Spanish (Spain)
Swedish (Sweden)
Tajik (Cyrillic, Tajikistan)
Tamazight (Latin, Algeria)
Tamil (India)
Tetum (Timor)
Thai (Thailand)
Tigrinya (Eritrea)
Turkish (Turkey)
Ukranian (Ukraine)
Urdu (Islamic Republic of Pakistan)
Uzbek (Latin, Uzbekistan)
Vietnamese (Vietnam)
Wolof (Senegal)
Yoruba (Nigeria)
The Languages translated into from English (United States) are:
Arabic (Egypt)
Hungarian (Hungary)
Polish (Poland)
Romanian (Romania)
Asked by: Carla Lockhart (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to raise concerns about the treatment of (a) Christians and (b) other religious minorities in Uzbekistan at the United Nations.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK is committed to championing freedom of religion or belief for all. In Uzbekistan's most recent UN Universal Periodic Review, the UK raised concerns regarding upholding freedom of religion or belief amongst other human rights issues. We continue to seek opportunities to raise concerns at the United Nations and in other international fora where appropriate. Our Embassy in Tashkent also regularly raises human rights with the relevant authorities in Uzbekistan and maintains a dialogue with human rights groups in the region.
Asked by: Sammy Wilson (Democratic Unionist Party - East Antrim)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his counterpart in Uzbekistan on in relation to reports of (a) harassment of Christian converts, (b) restrictions on house church gatherings and (c) employment discrimination against members of religious minorities.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK remains committed to championing freedom of religion or belief for all. Whilst the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs has not made direct representations to his counterparts in Uzbekistan regarding these issues, our Embassy in Tashkent regularly raises human rights with the relevant authorities in Uzbekistan and maintains a dialogue with human rights groups in the region. In Uzbekistan's most recent UN universal periodic review the UK raised our concerns regarding upholding freedom of religious belief amongst other human rights concerns and we continue to seek opportunities to raise concerns where appropriate.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will publish a breakdown of the (a) cost to the public purse and (b) recipients by nationality of the Chevening Scholarship in each of the last five years.
Answered by Anneliese Dodds
Chevening Scholarships provide fully-funded postgraduate masters awards at UK universities for future global leaders from approximately 140 eligible countries and territories.
Chevening Programme Expenditure
Financial year | Total programme expenditure |
2019 - 2020 | £57,744,779.51 |
2020 - 2021 | £50,397,000.00 |
2021 - 2022 | £59,233,000.00 |
2022 - 2023 | £58,994,000.00 |
2023 - 2024 | £59,330,000.00 |
Annual costs for Chevening Scholarships can be found in the FCDO Annual Reports and Accounts on GOV.UK. The cost for each Chevening scholar varies between individuals, depending on factors including the cost of tuition fees, accommodation and flights.
Breakdown of recipients by nationality of the Chevening Scholarship for the last 5 years:
Country/Territory | Awards made in 2019 (incl. full/part partner funded awards) | Awards made in 2020 (incl. full/part partner funded awards) | Awards made in 2021 (incl. full/part partner funded awards) | Awards made in 2022 (incl. full/part partner funded awards) | Awards made in 2023 (incl. full/part partner funded awards) | Awards made in 2024 (incl. full/part partner funded awards) |
Afghanistan | 15 | 23 | 29 | 18 | 21 | 13 |
Albania | 16 | 6 | 14 | 11 | 11 | 10 |
Algeria | 8 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 7 |
Angola | 9 | 4 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 7 |
Anguilla | 2 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 6 | 5 |
Antigua and Barbuda | 2 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
Argentina | 25 | 19 | 24 | 21 | 15 | 30 |
Armenia | 9 | 3 | 9 | 7 | 4 | 4 |
Australia | 3 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
Azerbaijan | 9 | 8 | 11 | 9 | 6 | 5 |
Bahamas | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 5 |
Bangladesh | 13 | 14 | 20 | 15 | 21 | 22 |
Barbados | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
Belize | 5 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 5 |
Benin | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Bermuda | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Bhutan | 3 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 6 |
Bolivia | 7 | 5 | 9 | 8 | 4 | 6 |
Bosnia and Herzegovina | 13 | 5 | 9 | 8 | 4 | 5 |
Botswana | 9 | 5 | 7 | 4 | 4 | 6 |
Brazil | 57 | 46 | 53 | 47 | 46 | 36 |
Brunei Darussalam | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
Burkina Faso |
|
|
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| 2 |
Burundi | 5 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 5 |
Cambodia | 17 | 9 | 13 | 11 | 12 | 9 |
Cameroon | 15 | 12 | 10 | 5 | 8 | 8 |
Canada | 2 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
Cape Verde | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
Cayman Islands | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Chad | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
Chile | 7 | 2 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
China | 60 | 37 | 41 | 33 | 30 | 17 |
Colombia | 25 | 14 | 16 | 14 | 14 | 14 |
Congo, Republic of | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Congo, The Democratic Republic Of The | 7 | 8 | 9 | 2 | 4 | 8 |
Costa Rica | 5 | 3 | 9 | 4 | 5 | 6 |
Côte d’Ivoire | 6 | 7 | 6 | 8 | 4 | 8 |
Cuba | 12 | 11 | 11 | 6 | 8 | 8 |
Djibouti | 3 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 1 |
Dominica | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 3 |
Dominican Republic | 11 | 10 | 14 | 11 | 10 | 8 |
Ecuador | 9 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 4 | 6 |
Egypt | 45 | 33 | 39 | 32 | 31 | 29 |
El Salvador | 6 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 3 |
Equatorial Guinea | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Eritrea | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
Ethiopia | 16 | 24 | 21 | 13 | 18 | 17 |
Falkland Islands | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Fiji | 2 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 7 |
Gabon | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Georgia | 13 | 9 | 15 | 15 | 13 | 10 |
Ghana | 22 | 21 | 19 | 16 | 17 | 14 |
Greece | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Grenada | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 3 |
Guatemala | 4 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 1 |
Guinea | 1 | 6 | 6 | 1 | 4 | 4 |
Guyana | 10 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 4 |
Haiti | 4 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 |
Honduras | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 |
Hong Kong | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 |
Iceland | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
India | 47 | 38 | 41 | 46 | 38 | 36 |
Indonesia | 60 | 50 | 58 | 45 | 42 | 39 |
Iraq | 22 | 21 | 26 | 22 | 19 | 18 |
Israel | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
Jamaica | 18 | 14 | 17 | 16 | 14 | 13 |
Japan | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
Jordan | 15 | 12 | 16 | 11 | 7 | 10 |
Kazakhstan | 8 | 8 | 8 | 6 | 9 | 12 |
Kenya | 33 | 39 | 38 | 37 | 36 | 30 |
Kingdom of Eswatini | 9 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 4 |
Kiribati | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Kosovo | 5 | 11 | 10 | 9 | 5 | 6 |
Kyrgyzstan | 6 | 4 | 5 | 2 | 4 | 6 |
Lao People's Democratic Republic | 8 | 7 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 8 |
Lebanon | 9 | 6 | 11 | 9 | 10 | 10 |
Lesotho | 5 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 6 | 6 |
Liberia | 6 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 6 |
Libya | 18 | 15 | 17 | 18 | 12 | 11 |
Madagascar | 11 | 8 | 3 | 9 | 5 | 6 |
Malawi | 13 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 6 | 7 |
Malaysia | 38 | 37 | 40 | 38 | 34 | 31 |
Maldives | 4 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 8 |
Mali | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 4 |
Mauritania | 1 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 5 |
Mauritius | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 5 |
Mexico | 53 | 39 | 40 | 39 | 37 | 33 |
Moldova, Republic Of | 7 | 6 | 5 | 7 | 6 | 5 |
Mongolia | 7 | 12 | 8 | 11 | 13 | 16 |
Montenegro | 9 | 6 | 8 | 7 | 4 | 5 |
Montserrat | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
Morocco | 11 | 11 | 13 | 9 | 10 | 10 |
Mozambique | 8 | 8 | 11 | 11 | 9 | 9 |
Myanmar | 12 | 9 | 16 | 8 | 10 | 10 |
Namibia | 9 | 14 | 15 | 11 | 13 | 11 |
Nauru | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
Nepal | 11 | 12 | 17 | 10 | 12 | 13 |
New Zealand | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
Nicaragua | 4 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 1 |
Niger | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 |
Nigeria | 56 | 46 | 46 | 44 | 44 | 30 |
North Macedonia | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 6 |
Oman | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Pakistan | 49 | 34 | 51 | 47 | 46 | 43 |
Palestinian Territory, Occupied | 26 | 20 | 23 | 14 | 13 | 10 |
Panama | 7 | 4 | 11 | 5 | 5 | 5 |
Papua New Guinea | 3 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 3 |
Paraguay | 15 | 13 | 13 | 14 | 16 | 16 |
Peru | 18 | 7 | 15 | 12 | 9 | 10 |
Philippines | 28 | 16 | 34 | 23 | 22 | 21 |
Republic of Korea | 24 | 21 | 13 | 12 | 18 | 12 |
Rwanda | 19 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 5 | 5 |
Saint Helena | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Saint Kitts and Nevis | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Saint Lucia | 3 | 1 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 3 |
Saint Vincent and The Grenadines | 2 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 3 |
Samoa | 2 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 4 |
Sao Tome And Principe | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
Senegal | 8 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 6 |
Serbia | 15 | 10 | 10 | 6 | 7 | 10 |
Seychelles | 3 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 3 |
Sierra Leone | 6 | 5 | 4 | 6 | 5 | 6 |
Singapore | 4 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 3 |
Solomon Islands | 4 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 3 | 7 |
Somalia | 11 | 10 | 11 | 11 | 14 | 16 |
South Africa | 44 | 33 | 46 | 35 | 42 | 28 |
South Caucasus | 3 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 2 |
South Sudan | 6 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 6 |
Sri Lanka | 6 | 7 | 13 | 8 | 9 | 10 |
Sudan | 16 | 17 | 18 | 17 | 17 | 16 |
Suriname | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
Syrian Arab Republic | 22 | 21 | 24 | 22 | 20 | 19 |
Taiwan (Republic of China) | 4 | 6 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 5 |
Tajikistan | 4 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 5 |
Tanzania | 18 | 15 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 9 |
Thailand | 24 | 15 | 22 | 17 | 22 | 21 |
The Gambia | 10 | 9 | 8 | 5 | 5 | 6 |
Timor-Leste | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
Tonga | 2 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
Trinidad and Tobago | 3 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
Tunisia | 14 | 11 | 11 | 8 | 6 | 7 |
Turkey | 24 | 21 | 23 | 18 | 22 | 23 |
Turkmenistan | 4 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 2 | 1 |
Turks and Caicos Islands | 1 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 4 |
Tuvalu | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
Uganda | 16 | 16 | 24 | 18 | 24 | 17 |
Ukraine | 21 | 20 | 19 | 42 | 26 | 23 |
Uruguay | 9 | 7 | 9 | 8 | 10 | 9 |
Uzbekistan | 9 | 8 | 8 | 5 | 6 | 15 |
Vanuatu | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 2 |
Venezuela | 10 | 7 | 9 | 7 | 7 | 6 |
Vietnam | 24 | 19 | 25 | 19 | 23 | 22 |
Virgin Islands (British) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
Yemen | 9 | 6 | 14 | 8 | 5 | 9 |
Zambia | 23 | 14 | 14 | 12 | 13 | 12 |
Zimbabwe | 30 | 10 | 12 | 7 | 6 | 8 |
We are withholding some country specific information under Section 38 (Health and Safety) exemption (1) (a) and (b) of the Freedom of Information Act, which provides that information is exempt if disclosure would or would be likely to endanger the physical or mental health of any individual or endanger the safety of any individual.
Asked by: Baroness Cox (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what representations they have made to the government of Uzbekistan on their promises to eliminate restrictions on freedom of religion or belief for religious minorities and amending the 2021 law on freedom of conscience and religious organisations.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)
The UK regularly raises concerns about the human rights situation in Uzbekistan with the Uzbek authorities, including during Ministerial meetings. No specific representations have made been on the issue of freedom of religion or belief for religious minorities in recent meetings. However, the Minister for Europe, North America and UK Overseas Territories spoke to Deputy Foreign Minister Madrakhimov on 31 October and raised wider human rights issues. We will continue to monitor changes to legislation that impact minority groups.
Asked by: Lord Rooker (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what procedures they apply to NHS product supply chains to identify if any products which contains cotton are grown in the Xinjiang area of China.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Section 47 of the Health and Social Care Act 2022 mandated my Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care to conduct a review of the risks associated with slavery and human trafficking in National Health Service supply chains, with an emphasis on cotton-based products. The report was laid in parliament on 14 December 2023.
The report revealed that while many NHS tier one suppliers are United Kingdom-based, their supply chains often connect through multiple tiers to higher-risk countries, where many of the suppliers of cotton are based. Approximately 34% of high-risk suppliers were registered as based in China, where there is significant concern of forced labour, especially in Xinjiang's cotton production. Concern has also been raised about Pakistan's Sialkot region, a major source of surgical instruments where production is often subcontracted to the largely unregulated informal sector. Concerns also extend to cotton-producing nations like Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan, and to Malaysia and China for personal protective equipment manufacturing.
The supply chain mapping undertaken for the purpose of the review was identified as inappropriate for the size and range of products supplied to the NHS, requiring extensive effort by the buyer and suppliers to collect information that was still insufficient to affect change. Many of the suppliers identified as having high risk supply chains are UK based, however their supply chains are global.
In response to the findings the review makes a series of recommendations, outlined in detail in the publication. It advises a joint-department strategy for better risk assessment and mapping in NHS supply chains, urging ongoing emphasis on managing modern slavery risks, including updating procurement practices and standardising assessments integrated with e-commerce systems.
It recommends bolstering NHS staff's ability to tackle modern slavery, and improving supply chain mapping capability. Upcoming regulations under Section 12ZC of the NHS Act 2006 will further aid the NHS in assessing and mitigating modern slavery risks in individual procurements, alongside the introduction of a consistent risk assessment embedded into the health family’s e-commerce system.
Asked by: Lord Rooker (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have conducted any checks of products they use which contain cotton to ascertain where the cotton was grown.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Section 47 of the Health and Social Care Act 2022 mandated my Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care to conduct a review of the risks associated with slavery and human trafficking in National Health Service supply chains, with an emphasis on cotton-based products. The report was laid in parliament on 14 December 2023.
The report revealed that while many NHS tier one suppliers are United Kingdom-based, their supply chains often connect through multiple tiers to higher-risk countries, where many of the suppliers of cotton are based. Approximately 34% of high-risk suppliers were registered as based in China, where there is significant concern of forced labour, especially in Xinjiang's cotton production. Concern has also been raised about Pakistan's Sialkot region, a major source of surgical instruments where production is often subcontracted to the largely unregulated informal sector. Concerns also extend to cotton-producing nations like Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan, and to Malaysia and China for personal protective equipment manufacturing.
The supply chain mapping undertaken for the purpose of the review was identified as inappropriate for the size and range of products supplied to the NHS, requiring extensive effort by the buyer and suppliers to collect information that was still insufficient to affect change. Many of the suppliers identified as having high risk supply chains are UK based, however their supply chains are global.
In response to the findings the review makes a series of recommendations, outlined in detail in the publication. It advises a joint-department strategy for better risk assessment and mapping in NHS supply chains, urging ongoing emphasis on managing modern slavery risks, including updating procurement practices and standardising assessments integrated with e-commerce systems.
It recommends bolstering NHS staff's ability to tackle modern slavery, and improving supply chain mapping capability. Upcoming regulations under Section 12ZC of the NHS Act 2006 will further aid the NHS in assessing and mitigating modern slavery risks in individual procurements, alongside the introduction of a consistent risk assessment embedded into the health family’s e-commerce system.
Asked by: Stephen Doughty (Labour (Co-op) - Cardiff South and Penarth)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, what steps he has taken to prevent the transit of items in circumvention of UK sanctions (a) to and (b) from (i) Russia and (ii) Belarus via third countries.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan
Along with the EU, US and Japan, the UK has published a list of 50 sensitive technologies and other items Russia is most actively seeking to procure via third countries. Working closely with G7 partners, we have stepped up our engagement with third countries to address circumvention risks, including sending joint delegations to the UAE, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Georgia, and Armenia, to highlight risks and offer technical support. HMG is also setting up the Office of Trade Sanctions Implementation, which will boost the enforcement and implementation of UK trade sanctions.