On September 22, the Home Office of the Government of the United Kingdom published its response to a 2019 consultation on transparency in supply chains. Members of the public were invited to comment on a series of proposals to strengthen the impact of the UK Modern Slavery Act of 2015 (MSA), which requires large (i.e. a total annual turnover of £36 million plus, including subsidiaries) commercial organisations that supply goods and services and carry out business in the UK to annually disclose the steps they have taken to seek to address modern slavery in their operations and supply chains.
In its response, the government summarized the key results of the consultation in three areas: (1) content of statements; (2) transparency, compliance and enforcement; and (3) public sector supply chains. It also provides conclusions and next steps for actions to be taken by the Home Office in response to the results of the consultation.
Background on the consultation and revisions to the 2015 MSA
In 2019, the UK government committed to strengthening the MSA in response to an independent review of the effectiveness of the MSA. The independent review identified 80 areas in which the law could be strengthened, including, among others:
The consultation period, which spanned July 2019 to September 2019, sought perspectives on proposed legislative changes to report on transparency in supply chains, including: “the areas statements must cover; potential features for the new Government-run reporting service for modern slavery statements; a single reporting deadline; civil penalties; the extension of reporting to the public sector.”
The Home Office received over 700 written responses to the consultation, including:
The government also hosted a series of in-person roundtables across the UK with key stakeholders.
Commitments made by the Home Office
The following table is re-produced from Annex D of the report which provides an overview of the commitments made by the Home Office in response to the consultation.
Responses received
The report further provides detail on all of the responses received. These included support for strengthening mandatory reporting, broadening the required six areas of reporting while allowing a stepwise approach to compliance, and allowing for more flexibility in what companies report. These also included support for publishing statements on a government registry, instituting a single reporting deadline and for greater enforcement of the law. Finally, there was support for requiring public entities to report, for using budget size as a threshold for public sector reporting and for allowing public agencies to report as a group.
“This Government is determined to do everything we can to eliminate this shocking crime for our communities and from the global economy. Today, we will be taking an important step, by committing to an ambitious package of measures to strengthen and future-proof the Modern Slavery Act’s transparency legislation. […] Some of these measures are global firsts and I am proud of the UK’s world-leading approach, but that does not mean that we will stop here. Modern slavery is a complex and often hidden crime that affects every sector and every supply chain differently. While some businesses have made significant progress, others have failed to keep pace and have rightly faced serious consequences. This Government will continue to look at what further measures are needed to strengthen our response and create a level playing field for responsible businesses free from the threat of unscrupulous competition.”
The Rt. Hon. Priti Patel, MP, Secretary of State for the Home Department, Government of the UK, Transparency in supply chains consultation: Government response (22 September 2020)
