The Grocer – 20 July 2019

12 | The Grocer | 20 July 2019 Get the full story at thegrocer.co.uk

analysis slavery

It’s tough to spot even for businesses with strong

checks and balances. What’s food & drink to do?

T

he brutal reality of mod-
ern slavery in Britain
came to light last week,
when eight members of a Polish
gang were jailed for a total of
over 55 years in what the judge
described as “the largest con-
spiracy of its type ever known”.
The gang had trafficked up
to 400 people to the West
Midlands, forcing them to live
in squalid conditions and work
for a pittance at sites including
farms supplying major super-
markets, it emerged.
Hitting the headlines just
days before the government
launched a consultation on
plans to strengthen reporting
requirements under the Modern
Slavery Act, the case was a
timely reminder of why the food
industry should be taking this
issue very seriously indeed.
So what is the government
proposing? And will tougher

Modern slavery: can

tougher rules tackle

hidden exploitation?

transparency rules really help

tackle hidden exploitation?

Modern slavery is more

prevalent in Britain than most

consumers – and many busi-

nesses – realise, warns Marc

Stanton, director of the Slave-

Free Alliance, a not-for-profit

membership scheme run by

charity Hope for Justice. “No

one knows the true number of

UK victims – estimates range

from 13,000, according to a five-

year-old government study, up

to 136,000 according to a recent

academic study. We agree with

the National Crime Agency that

the number is at least in the tens

of thousands,” he says.

Britain is doing more than

any other country to combat

modern slavery and human

trafficking. In 2015, the govern-

ment introduced the Modern

Slavery Act, which increased

the maximum sentence for

criminals convicted of human

trafficking and modern slavery

Carina Perkins offences to life imprisonment.
It also introduced a require-
ment for businesses with a
turnover of more than £36m to
publish public statements on
what they are doing to prevent
forced labour in their opera-
tions and supply chains.
The legislation has “defi-
nitely helped” address the issue
of modern slavery in Britain,
says Stanton. However, while
supermarkets are on the whole
“acting well above the require-
ments in the Act”, the response
from suppliers has been more
mixed. “Some have risen to the
challenge whilst others have
taken minimal steps to address
the risks,” says Stanton. “The
farming industry is high risk
and could generally do more to
reduce it.”
The BRC, which campaigned
for the transparency in supply
chains clause to be added to the
Act, admits it has some flaws in
its current form.
“Not every business that is
required to make a statement is
doing so,” says BRC head of sus-
tainability Peter Andrews, who
points out the lack of a central
registry of statements makes it
difficult to keep track of who is
compliant and who isn’t.
“On top of that, companies
can simply say they have taken
no such action,” he adds.
Public procurement is also
outside the scope of the cur-
rent regulations. “The NHS, for
example, is purchasing billions
of pounds worth of food and
materials but isn’t putting any

checks on its supply chain on

these things,” says Andrews.

Things are set to change,

though. Following a review

of the Modern Slavery Act by

a cross-party group of MPs

last year, the government has

announced plans to strengthen

the rules. Proposals currently

out for consultation include

forcing businesses to report on

what they are doing in certain

areas, as well as removing the

ability for businesses to simply

state they are taking no action.

The government also wants

“ It’s going to take

lots of working

together, lots

of training”

Slavery in the UK

● The government

estimates there are

tens of thousands

of people in slavery

in Britain today

● In 2017, over

5,000 people were

referred to British

authorities as

potential victims

of slavery, up one

third from 2016.

That includes over

2,000 children

● But only 13%

were assessed to

be modern slavery

victims at the end

of the year

● Referrals

included possible

victims from 116

countries

● Forty-six per

cent of people

referred were in

labour exploitation

and 34% were in

sexual exploitation

● Up to 34% of

victims of slavery

are estimated to be

re-trafficked

Source: http://www.

antislavery.org