"Force UK firms to stamp out slavery from supply chains - charities," 20 October 2017

Britain should force businesses to stamp out modern slavery from their supply chains, after a survey found that many of its biggest firms are failing to comply with anti-slavery laws, pressure groups said on Friday. Under Britain's 2015 Modern Slavery Act, companies with a turnover of more than 36 million pounds ($47.5 million) must produce an annual statement outlining the actions they have taken to combat forced labour within their supply chains. Yet more than half of about 20,000 companies in Britain covered by the provision have failed to comply, while the government has not compelled any businesses to respond, according to a report by Focus on Labour Exploitation (FLEX).

Most of Britain's FTSE 100 companies have taken a "tick box" approach, with half providing "no meaningful information" about steps taken to tackle slavery in their supply chains, said the Business and Human Rights Resource Centre (BHRRC) this week.

Laws which limit the number of layers in a supply chain and make firms jointly liable for abuses and exploitation of workers by their subcontractors could compel companies operating in Britain to take more action to root out slavery, FLEX said... 

Britain's interior ministry said that more companies than ever before were focused on tackling modern slavery. "We are confident that compliance will largely be driven by public scrutiny, without the need for burdensome regulation," a Home Office spokesman said in a statement.