Modern Slavery Act 2015 Transparency Statement 2024

The Modern Slavery Act 2015 consolidates various offences relating to human trafficking and slavery. In broad terms:

• Slavery is where ownership is exercised over a person.
• Servitude involves coercion to oblige a person to provide services.
• Forced and compulsory labour is where a person works or provides services on a non-voluntary basis under the threat of a penalty.
• Human trafficking involves arranging or facilitating the travel of a person with a view to exploiting them.

Section 52 of the Act imposes a duty on public authorities, including district councils, to notify the Secretary of State of suspected victims of slavery or human trafficking. The Council is also a ‘First Responder’ under the National Referral Mechanism which involves making referrals in order to secure appropriate protection and support for victims.

Section 54 of the Modern Slavery Act states that the employer’s slavery and human trafficking statement might include information on:

• its structure, business and supply chains;
• its policies in relation to slavery and human trafficking;
• its due diligence processes in relation to slavery and human trafficking in its business and supply chains;
• the parts of its business and supply chains where there is a risk of slavery and human trafficking taking place, and the steps that it has taken to assess and manage that risk;
• 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; and
• the training about slavery and human trafficking available to its staff.

As part of Local Government, the Council recognises that it has a responsibility to take a robust approach to preventing slavery, exploitation and/or human trafficking in all its forms. Modern slavery in its wider sense is commonly accepted to include forced or bonded labour, human trafficking, child slavery, anything involving offences under the Protection of Children Act 1978 or the Sexual Offences Act 2003 and forced or early marriage.

This statement has been approved by the Council’s Senior Management Team and the Portfolio Holder for Communities. It will continue to be reviewed and updated annually.

Cllr Natalie Sommers
Portfolio Holder for Communities, Heritage and Public Protection
September 2024