Baroness Twycross, the Cabinet Office, has provided the following answer to your written parliamentary question (HL377):
Question by Lord Alton of Liverpool:
To ask His Majesty’s Government what measures they are taking across all departments to ensure that British supply chains are free of slave labour. (HL377)
Tabled on: 26 July 2024
Answer:
Baroness Twycross:
Public procurement is a key lever for enabling delivery of the Government’s missions, both in terms of sourcing the goods and services required by the public sector but also in using procurement policy to drive up standards.
The government will be ensuring that the powers in the Procurement Act are utilised to support the new government’s priorities. New measures in the Act, which are due to come into force in October 2024, strengthens the rules on disregarding bids and excluding suppliers where there is evidence of modern slavery. This will apply even in circumstances where there has not yet been a conviction or technical breach of an international treaty.
Date and time of answer: 07 Aug 2024 at 16:59.
