(1)The Modern Slavery Act 2015 is amended as follows.
(2)In section 54 (transparency in supply chains etc), omit subsections (9) and (10).
(3)After section 54ZB (inserted by section 47(3)) insert—
54ZCGuidance
(1)The Secretary of State—
(a)may issue guidance about the duties imposed on commercial organisations and public authorities by this Part or about any related matters;
(b)must publish any such guidance in a way the Secretary of State considers appropriate.
(2)The guidance may in particular include provision about the kind of information which may be included in a slavery and human trafficking statement under section 54 or 54ZA (in addition to the information required to be included).
Inserts a new provision into Modern Slavery Act 2015 — after section 54ZB
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.
(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;
“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
368. This clause updates the provisions on providing guidance on publishing a slavery and human trafficking statement to account for the changes made in this Bill.
369. Subsection (1) amends the MSA 2015.
370. Subsection (2) removes subsections (9) and (10) from section 54.
371. Subsection (3) inserts new section 54ZC Guidance after 54ZB.
372. Subsection (1)(a) and (b) of new section 54ZC enables the Secretary of State to issue guidance for reporting organisations on how to prepare a slavery and human trafficking statement and places a duty on them to publish the guidance in a way they consider appropriate.
373. Subsection (2) of new section 54ZC provides that the guidance may include provision about the kind of information which may be included in a slavery and human trafficking statement, in addition to the information that is required to be included under section 54 or 54ZA.