(1)Section 54 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 (transparency in supply chains etc) is amended as follows.
(2)For subsection (6) substitute—
(6)A slavery and human trafficking statement must be certified either—
(a)by the organisation to which it relates, or
(b)if that organisation is a subsidiary undertaking, by a parent undertaking of the organisation.
(6A)A statement is certified for the purposes of subsection (6) if—
(a)where the organisation doing the certifying is a body corporate other than a limited liability partnership, the statement is approved by the board of directors (or equivalent management body) and signed by a director (or equivalent);
(b)where that organisation is a limited liability partnership, the statement is approved by the members and signed by a designated member;
(c)where that organisation is a limited partnership registered under the Limited Partnerships Act 1907, the statement is signed by a general partner;
(d)where that organisation is any other kind of partnership, the statement is signed by a partner.
(6B)A slavery and human trafficking statement may be approved or signed under subsection (6A) only after the end of the financial year to which the statement relates.
(6C)A slavery and human trafficking statement must—
(a)contain a declaration by the individual signing the statement that the statement is accurate to the best of their knowledge and belief,
(b)if the statement is required to be approved (under subsection (6A)(a) or (b)), specify the date on which it was approved, and
(c)specify the date on which it was signed.
(3)In subsection (12), after the definition of “commercial organisation” insert—.
“parent undertaking” and “subsidiary undertaking” have the same meanings as in the Companies Acts (see section 1162 of the Companies Act 2006);
Amends Modern Slavery Act 2015, section 54 — Transparency in supply chains etc
Modern Slavery Act 2015 — section 54
(1) A commercial organisation within subsection (2) must prepare a slavery and human trafficking statement for each financial year of the organisation.
(2) A commercial organisation is within this subsection if it—
(a) supplies goods or services, and
(b) has a total turnover of not less than an amount prescribed by regulations made by the Secretary of State.
(3) For the purposes of subsection (2)(b), an organisation's total turnover is to be determined in accordance with regulations made by the Secretary of State.
(4) A slavery and human trafficking statement for a financial year is—
(a) a statement of the steps the organisation has taken during the financial year to ensure that slavery and human trafficking is not taking place—
(i) in any of its supply chains, and
(ii) in any part of its own business, or
(b) a statement that the organisation has taken no such steps.
(5) An organisation's slavery and human trafficking statement may include information about—
(a) the organisation's structure, its business and its supply chains;
(b) its policies in relation to slavery and human trafficking;
(c) its due diligence processes in relation to slavery and human trafficking in its business and supply chains;
(d) the parts of its business and supply chains where there is a risk of slavery and human trafficking taking place, and the steps it has taken to assess and manage that risk;
(e) its effectiveness in ensuring that slavery and human trafficking is not taking place in its business or supply chains, measured against such performance indicators as it considers appropriate;
(f) the training about slavery and human trafficking available to its staff.
(6) A slavery and human trafficking statement—
(a) if the organisation is a body corporate other than a limited liability partnership, must be approved by the board of directors (or equivalent management body) and signed by a director (or equivalent);
(b) if the organisation is a limited liability partnership, must be approved by the members and signed by a designated member;
(c) if the organisation is a limited partnership registered under the Limited Partnerships Act 1907, must be signed by a general partner;
(d) if the organisation is any other kind of partnership, must be signed by a partner.
(6) A slavery and human trafficking statement must be certified either—
(a) by the organisation to which it relates, or
(b) if that organisation is a subsidiary undertaking, by a parent undertaking of the organisation.
(6A) A statement is certified for the purposes of subsection (6) if—
(a) where the organisation doing the certifying is a body corporate other than a limited liability partnership, the statement is approved by the board of directors (or equivalent management body) and signed by a director (or equivalent);
(b) where that organisation is a limited liability partnership, the statement is approved by the members and signed by a designated member;
(c) where that organisation is a limited partnership registered under the Limited Partnerships Act 1907, the statement is signed by a general partner;
(d) where that organisation is any other kind of partnership, the statement is signed by a partner.
(6B) A slavery and human trafficking statement may be approved or signed under subsection (6A) only after the end of the financial year to which the statement relates.
(6C) A slavery and human trafficking statement must—
(a) contain a declaration by the individual signing the statement that the statement is accurate to the best of their knowledge and belief,
(b) if the statement is required to be approved (under subsection (6A)(a) or (b)), specify the date on which it was approved, and
(c) specify the date on which it was signed.
(7) If the organisation has a website, it must—
(a) publish the slavery and human trafficking statement on that website, and
(b) include a link to the slavery and human trafficking statement in a prominent place on that website's homepage.
(8) If the organisation does not have a website, it must provide a copy of the slavery and human trafficking statement to anyone who makes a written request for one, and must do so before the end of the period of 30 days beginning with the day on which the request is received.
(9) The Secretary of State—
(a) may issue guidance about the duties imposed on commercial organisations by this section;
(b) must publish any such guidance in a way the Secretary of State considers appropriate.
(10) The guidance may in particular include further provision about the kind of information which may be included in a slavery and human trafficking statement.
(11) The duties imposed on commercial organisations by this section are enforceable by the Secretary of State bringing civil proceedings in the High Court for an injunction or, in Scotland, for specific performance of a statutory duty under section 45 of the Court of Session Act 1988.
(12) For the purposes of this section—
“commercial organisation” means—
(a) a body corporate (wherever incorporated) which carries on a business, or part of a business, in any part of the United Kingdom, or
(b) a partnership (wherever formed) which carries on a business, or part of a business, in any part of the United Kingdom,
and for this purpose “business” includes a trade or profession;
“parent undertaking” and “subsidiary undertaking” have the same meanings as in the Companies Acts (see section 1162 of the Companies Act 2006);
“partnership” means—
(a) a partnership within the Partnership Act 1890,
(b) a limited partnership registered under the Limited Partnerships Act 1907, or
(c) a firm, or an entity of a similar character, formed under the law of a country outside the United Kingdom;
“slavery and human trafficking” means—
(a) conduct which constitutes an offence under any of the following— (i)section 1, 2 or 4 of this Act, (ii)section 1, 2 or 4 of the Human Trafficking and Exploitation (Criminal Justice and Support for Victims) Act (Northern Ireland) 2015 (c. 2 (N.I.)) (equivalent offences in Northern Ireland), (iii) section 1 or 4 of the Human Trafficking and Exploitation (Scotland) Act 2015 (asp 12) (equivalent offences in Scotland), or
(b) conduct which would constitute an offence in a part of the United Kingdom under any of those provisions if the conduct took place in that part of the United Kingdom.
Explanatory Notes · published by the Government with the Bill
340. This clause amends section 54 of the MSA 2015 to allow for a slavery and human trafficking statement to be approved by a parent organisation on behalf of its subsidiary organisations. This allows for subsidiary organisations that are required to meet the reporting requirements by virtue of section 54 to report as part of a group under their parent organisation.
341. Subsection (1) provides that this clause amends section 54 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015.
342. Subsection (2) replaces section 54(6) with new subsections (6), (6A), (6B) and (6C).
343. New subsection (6) directs that a statement must be certified by the organisation to which it relates or, if it is a subsidiary organisation, it must be certified by the parent of the subsidiary organisation to which it relates.
344. New subsection (6A)(a) to (d) specifies the appropriate person or group of persons with a private organisation that must approve and sign statements. This covers bodies corporate, limited liability partnerships, limited partnerships registered under the Limited Partnerships Act 1907 and any other type of partnership.
345. New subsection (6B) specifies that a statement must only be signed after the end of the financial year to which it relates.
346. New subsection (6C)(a) specifies that a statement must contain a declaration from the person signing the statement that the information contained in it is accurate to the best of their knowledge and belief.
347. New subsection (6C)(b) requires the organisation to include the date on which the statement was approved.
348. New subsection (6C)(d) requires that the statement contains the date on which it was signed.
349. Subsection (3) provides that for the purposes of subsection (12), “parent undertaking” and “subsidiary undertaking” have the same meanings as in the Companies Acts (see section 1162 of the Companies Act 2006).