Big Business to be held to account to keep supply chains slavery free
Big businesses will have to publicly state each year what action they have taken to ensure their supply chains are slavery free, Home Office Minister Karen Bradley announced today. The measure is to be included in the Modern Slavery Bill, currently going through Parliament, and goes further than any similar legislation in the world by applying to businesses regardless of the nature of a company or what it supplies…[C]ases of labour exploitation have overtaken sexual exploitation demonstrating the clear need for this pioneering legislation…A consultation will be held to set the exact threshold for the size of business to ensure the system is both fair and robust. Statutory guidance will also be produced setting out the kinds of information that might be disclosed to help companies comply…The duty of disclosure announced today will apply regardless of the nature of the company or what it supplies…