The Modern Slavery Act 2015 included a ground-breaking requirement for large businesses to report annually on the steps they have taken to prevent modern slavery in their operations and global supply chains. To lead the way for the public sector, the UK government has now published its own statement which assesses the risk of modern slavery across around £50bn of its annual spending.

The statement sets out the government’s efforts towards eradicating modern slavery from its supply chains, including direct engagement with around 400 suppliers and delivering training to over 250 government commercial staff. The statement includes headline goals for ministerial departments to work towards as they prepare to publish their own statements from 2021 onwards.