Asked by: Lord Hunt of Kings Heath (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to conduct regular follow-up reviews of the risk of modern slavery and human trafficking in the NHS supply chain following their commitment to eradicate modern slavery from the healthcare system.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The United Kingdom is dedicated to combating modern slavery, focusing on supporting victims and prosecuting perpetrators. This effort extends beyond the review, aiming to eliminate modern slavery in healthcare supply chains as part of a broader strategy that includes the pioneering Modern Slavery Act 2015 and subsequent legislation. The UK has also invested over £37 million through the Modern Slavery Fund to fight modern slavery internationally.
Working with the National Health Service and NHS Supply Chain, the Department will implement recommendations to help remove modern slavery from healthcare supply chains. 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, with a view to eradicate the use of goods and services tainted by modern slavery in the NHS.
Asked by: Lord Hunt of Kings Heath (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to their paper Review of risk of modern slavery and human trafficking in the NHS supply chain, published on 14 December 2023, and specifically their assessment of human rights violations in Xinjiang, whether an assessment was made of the number of people at risk of forced organ harvesting.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The United Kingdom is committed to tackling the issue of Uyghur forced labour in supply chains, and is taking robust action. We have introduced new guidance on the risks of doing business in Xinjiang, enhanced export controls, and announced the introduction of financial penalties under the Modern Slavery Act. The Procurement Act, which received Royal Assent in 2023, will enable public sector contracting authorities to reject bids and terminate contracts with suppliers which are known to use forced labour themselves or anywhere in their supply chain.
The review, which examined the NHS Supply Chain's supplier base, primarily focussed on medical devices and consumables. It did not specifically address the risk of forced organ harvesting because the National Health Service does not engage with supply chains from China for the procurement of human organs.
Asked by: Lord Hunt of Kings Heath (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government, what action they intend to take as a result of their paper Review of risk of modern slavery and human trafficking in the NHS supply chain, published on 14 December 2023, and following their commitment to eradicate modern slavery from the healthcare system.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government aims to eliminate modern slavery at home and abroad, intensifying efforts since its 2020 modern slavery statement to address supply chain risks. The review makes a series of recommendations, outlined in detail in the publication. It advises for a joint-departments strategy for better risk assessment and mapping in National Health Service 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.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what (a) information his Department holds on and (b) steps his Department is taking to help tackle the (i) abduction and (ii) forced conversion of Christian girls and women in Pakistan.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Protecting women's rights is central to the UK Government's human rights engagement in Pakistan. The UK funded Accountability, Inclusion and Modern Slavery programme works to address gender-based violence by raising awareness of early and forced marriages. Our online hate speech programme is helping to make digital spaces safer for women. The UK will continue to support civil society and NGOs in lobbying the Government of Pakistan to honour its international commitments on Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB) and women's rights.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people have been prosecuted under human trafficking laws in each year since 2010.
Answered by Gareth Bacon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The Ministry of Justice publishes information on the number of defendants prosecuted for offences under human trafficking laws, from 2010 to 2022, in the Outcomes by Offence data tool: December 2022, and from year ending June 2011 to the year ending June 2023, in the Outcomes by Offence data tool: June 2023:
Offences under sections 2(1), 4 and 30(1) and 30(3) of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 can be found using following HO codes:
03608 - Conspire to arrange or facilitate travel of another person with a view to exploitation
03610 - Commit offence other than kidnapping or false imprisonment with intent to commit human trafficking offence
03611 - Commit offence of kidnapping or false imprisonment with intention of committing human trafficking offence
03612 - Breach a slavery and trafficking risk or prevention order
Offences under sections 57, 58, 59, 59A(1) of the Sexual Offences Act 2003 & Offences under sections 4 of the Asylum and Immigration (Treatment of Claimants, etc.) Act 2004 can be found by using following offences:
72 Human trafficking for sexual exploitation
78.1 Human trafficking for non-sexual exploitation
These can be accessed by navigating to the ‘Prosecutions and convictions’ tab and using the HO Offence Code and Offence filters to select the above offences in the Outcomes by Offence data tool.
In 2015, the UK Government introduced the world-leading Modern Slavery Act, giving law enforcement agencies the tools to tackle trafficking, including maximum life sentences for perpetrators and enhanced protection for victims.
Since the Modern Slavery Act was passed in 2015, we have seen significant law enforcement activity focused on modern slavery, which has led to an increase in the number of live police modern slavery investigations.
This has also led to an increase in the number of prosecutions brought and convictions secured.
Measures under the Nationality and Borders Act came into force in 2023 which have helped clarify our obligations to providing support for victims of modern slavery.
Asked by: Dan Carden (Labour - Liverpool, Walton)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the report entitled UK government ‘breaching international law’ with seasonal worker scheme, says UN envoy, published on 12 January 2024, whether he has made an assessment of the implications for his policies of the comments made by the UN’s special rapporteur on modern slavery on the UK's seasonal worker scheme.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
The Government is aware of the comments attributed to the UN’s Special Rapporteur on Modern Slavery regarding the operation of the Seasonal Worker Scheme in a recent press article. We do not, however, recognise the description of the operation of the UK’s Seasonal Worker route put forward in that article, on which the UN’s Special Rapporteur appear to be based.
The Home Office keeps all aspects of the Seasonal Worker route under close and ongoing review, including the welfare of participating overseas workers.
A key objective of the route is to ensure that migrant workers are protected against modern slavery and other labour abuses. The Home Office takes any allegations of mistreatment or abuse of this route extremely seriously. We will always take decisive action where we believe abusive practices are taking place or the conditions of the route are not being met.
Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking to help reduce the rate of victims of crime dropping out of criminal proceedings.
Answered by Laura Farris - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Ministry of Justice) (jointly with Home Office)
Supporting victims within the criminal justice system is a top priority for the government.
The government recognises that lengthy delays in court proceedings can exacerbate the challenges faced by victims and increase the likelihood of dropouts. We are actively recruiting up to 1,000 judges across all jurisdictions in the current financial year, emphasising our commitment to reducing waiting times. We funded over 100,000 sitting days last financial year and plan to deliver the same again this financial year to ensure we can hear more cases and tackle the outstanding caseload. The continued use of 24 Nightingale courtrooms into the 2023/24 financial year further demonstrates our dedication to addressing capacity challenges and expediting the legal process.
The government is committed to providing robust support systems for victims throughout the court process. Our recent initiatives include the full rollout of pre-recorded cross-examination (Section 28) for victims of sexual and modern slavery offences across all Crown Court locations in England and Wales. This allows victims to provide evidence in a less intimidating environment, reducing the emotional strain associated with live courtroom trials. In December 2022, we launched a new 24/7 support line for victims of rape and sexual abuse, providing free, confidential emotional support to help victims cope with the challenges they may face during proceedings.
The government is also quadrupling funding for victim and witness support services by 2024/25, up from £41 million in 2009/10. This includes additional ringfenced funding to increase the number of Independent Sexual Violence Advisors (ISVAs) and Independent Domestic Violence Advisors (IDVAs) by 300, to over 1,000, by 2024/25 - a 43% increase on the number of ISVAs and IDVAs. This year (2023/24), we are providing £38 million of ringfenced funding for ISVAs and IDVAs. We know the support available from ISVAs and IDVAs make victims almost 50% more likely to stay engaged with the criminal justice process.
The Victims and Prisoners Bill, reintroduced last November carried over from the previous session, encompasses measures designed to improve the overall experience of victims in the criminal justice system, supporting them to cope, recover and see justice done. The Bill introduces a duty on local commissioners in England to collaborate in commissioning support services for victims of domestic abuse, sexual abuse and serious violence, and introduces a requirement for statutory guidance about support roles such as ISVAs and IDVAs, ensuring a more cohesive and effective support provision.
Asked by: John McNally (Scottish National Party - Falkirk)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether he has made an estimate of the number of women on spousal visas that have been a victim of (a) domestic abuse and (b) modern slavery.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
The number of women on spousal visas that have been a victim of domestic abuse and modern slavery does not form part of any current transparency data or migration statistics and is not published.
The transparency data does, however, include a range of processing data and the latest data can be found at: Migration transparency data - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).
Asked by: Julian Knight (Independent - Solihull)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps he is taking to tackle modern slavery in Solihull constituency.
Answered by Laura Farris - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Ministry of Justice) (jointly with Home Office)
The Government is committed to tackling the heinous crime of modern slavery; ensuring that victims are provided with the support they need to begin rebuilding their lives and that those responsible are prosecuted.
We work closely with law enforcement, the criminal justice system, business, civil society and local government. The UK response is underpinned by the Modern Slavery Strategy 2014 and the Modern Slavery Act 2015; this legislation gives law enforcement agencies the tools to tackle modern slavery offences, including a maximum life sentence for perpetrators and enhanced protection for victims.
Since 2016, in addition to core police funding, we have invested £17.8 million in the Modern Slavery and Organised Immigration Crime Unit, a specialist police unit which supports all police forces in England and Wales, including West Midlands Police, to improve their response to modern slavery.
The National Referral Mechanism (NRM) is the framework for identifying and referring potential victims of modern slavery and ensuring they receive the appropriate support. If a First Responder thinks that modern slavery has taken place, the case should be referred to the NRM so that the relevant competent authority can fully consider the case. This process operates across all of England and Wales.
The Home Office also funds the Modern Slavery Victim Care Contract (MSVCC) to provide specialist support to adult victims of modern slavery in England and Wales. A total of 10,704 adults in England and Wales received support through the MSVCC during the year ending June 2023, the largest number supported for any year since the contract began.
Asked by: Liz Twist (Labour - Blaydon)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, with reference to the UK's commitment to Sustainable Development Goals 8, 8.7 and 15, what discussions he has had with his international counterparts on the (a) working conditions and (b) incomes of smallholder tea producers; and whether he has made an assessment of the potential impact of prices for green leaf sales on the incomes of smallholder tea producers.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
The UK improves the livelihoods of smallholder farmers across agrifood sectors through our multilateral and bilateral programmes, including regular global donor coordination.
Our work with Wood Foundation Africa increases Rwandan smallholder tea production, creating jobs and increasing incomes. Our "Work opportunities for Women" programme enables Kenyan women tea smallholders to apply more climate-adaptive techniques. In Malawi, UK's CASA programme enabled tea out-growers and their associations to better exercise their rights with large tea estates.
The International Development White Paper restates our commitment to accelerating progress towards all Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It includes UK support to tackling modern slavery by promoting raised standards overseas.