Question
There is wide consensus across the House on the need to tackle modern slavery. The Modern Slavery Act 2015 went a long way towards doing that, but fails to have any real teeth to stop slave-produced goods being sold in this country. The Immigration and Asylum Bill presents this House with an opportunity to give that Act some real teeth. Will the Secretary of State or the Minister sit down with me to discuss the options to give that Act teeth?
Answer
I thank the right hon. Gentleman for raising such an important point. As he will know, our modern slavery arrangements are subject to strengthening in the Immigration and Asylum Bill, which is currently going through this House. I would be happy to ensure that he can speak to either myself or one of my Ministers to discuss whether further changes need to be made.
Verdict: AMBER (62/100)
The reply responds directly to the main question. It commits to a meeting with the Secretary of State or a Minister to discuss further changes, and it names the Immigration and Asylum Bill as the vehicle for strengthening modern slavery arrangements. However, it does not address the question's specific concern about goods in UK supply chains, so the asker would probably need to follow up on that point.
How we got there
| Question item | Coverage | Specificity | Rationale |
|---|---|---|---|
| Will the Secretary of State or the Minister meet the member to discuss options for strengthening the Modern Slavery Act 2015 so that it better stops slave-produced goods being sold in the UK? | Addressed | Direct | Statement 4 directly answers the 'will you meet' part by committing to a meeting with the Secretary of State or a Minister to discuss further changes, and statements 2-3 name a concrete vehicle (the Immigration and Asylum Bill) for strengthening modern slavery arrangements. The reply does not address the goods-in-UK-supply-chain angle specifically, which keeps this from being a fuller answer. |