Government Departments: Procurement
The question
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps he is taking to ensure that UK Government public procurement does not contribute to serious human‑rights (a) risks and (b) violations overseas.
Answered by Chris Ward
The Government is clear that abhorrent human rights abuses including modern slavery and human trafficking have no place in public supply chains.
The Procurement Act 2023 provides contracting authorities with stronger powers to exclude suppliers from public procurements where there is compelling evidence of modern slavery within their supply chains. The exclusion grounds now also cover behaviour outside of the UK which would be an offence if it had been committed in the UK.
The Cabinet Office has, in addition, published extensive risk-based policy and guidance for commercial teams to tackle labour rights abuses in UK and global supply chains.
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