House of Lords Committee publishes inquiry findings on the effectiveness of the Modern Slavery Act 2015

On Wednesday 16 October 2024, the House of Lords published its report on the Modern Slavery Act 2015. The inquiry, launched in January 2024, evaluated whether the Act has achieved its intended goals and how it can be improved.

techUK had previously submitted written evidence in response to the Committee's call and later provided oral evidence, sharing the tech sector's perspective on mandatory due diligence and the potential role of digital tools in addressing modern slavery.

Key findings and recommendations

The Committee concluded that the UK’s response to modern slavery has lagged behind other countries, including in relation to the effectiveness of the supply chain requirements in Section 54 of the Act. It noted that modern slavery statements are inconsistent and that the lack of mandated content undermines the transparency that Section 54 aims to achieve, largely due to inadequate guidance and engagement with businesses. Most witnesses expressed that voluntary due diligence measures are insufficient and advocated for the introduction of mandatory human rights due diligence along with stricter enforcement rules, resulting in the following recommendations made to the Government:

Make publication of statements on its modern slavery registry mandatory, setting out the required topics for each statement to cover. This should include a description of how the organisation has assessed the effectiveness of its actions.

Increase awareness amongst all companies about supply chains by way of publishing standardised and accessible guidance for compliance with Section 54.

Create a dashboard with information including numbers of statements in total, by sector, and from organisations in scope, and examples of good and bad reporting by companies. This dashboard should be published online.

Extend Section 54 to all bodies in the public sector with an annual budget equivalent to that of the commercial organisations to which it applies.

Introduce legislation requiring companies meeting the threshold to undertake modern slavery due diligence in their supply chains and to take reasonable steps to address problems.

Make compliance thresholds consistent across sectors, including the public sector.

Consult businesses on potential changes, looking closely at SME’s ability to meet any new requirements.

Strengthen the Modern Slavery Bill outlined in the Queen’s Speech 2022 and, as a minimum, require relevant companies and public sector organisations to report and set out meaningful, reasonable steps to both identify risks and tackle modern slavery in their supply chains.

Introduce proportionate sanctions for companies that fail to comply.

Create a central register for all reports.

Make UK due diligence law compatible with the standards of the international landscape to make compliance easier for companies.

Consider introducing import laws which ban goods being brought into the UK if they are produced by certain companies known to use forced labour.

Refrain from introducing country-specific bans.

Include the issue of modern slavery and forced labour in its trade negotiations.

Formally set out the role of each department in combatting modern slavery and clarify responsibility for enforcement.

There is currently no clear government commitment to reforming the Act. techUK will keep members updated about any developments in this space.

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