The committee’s report Uyghur Forced Labour in Xinjiang and UK Value Chains, published in March, made recommendations to tackle slavery and abuse of the ethnic group in the Chinese region. This included a call for the government to accelerate proposals to amend and strengthen the Modern Slavery Act 2015, to enhance the transparency and accessibility of modern slavery statements and develop options for civil penalties in the event of non-compliance.
The report also recommended that the BEIS should develop a policy framework for creating both a "white list" and "blacklist" of companies that do and do not meet their obligations to uphold human rights throughout their supply chains.
The BEIS’s response to the recommendations said it will not amend the Company Directors Disqualification Act 1986 to determine whether breaches of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 by companies or their directors should be the basis for future disqualifications for company registration or director duties.
It also said it is not currently considering establishing a director-led working group within the BEIS to address the lack of transparency in supply chains specifically linked to the use of forced labour. It also confirmed it will not publish a white list of companies that have taken a significant and evidence actions to eliminate forced labour from their supply chains.
Nusrat Ghani, Conservative MP for Wealden and lead BEIS committee member for the forced labour in UK value chains inquiry, said: “The government’s response to the BEIS committee’s forced labour report is deeply disheartening. Given the horrifying evidence of abuses, it beggars belief the government is dragging its feet in bringing forward the tough action needed to help to tackle the exploitation of forced labour in Xinjiang.
“The BEIS committee’s original report [in March] brought forward a series of practical recommendations to ensure every effort is made to stamp out profiteering from these abuses. There continues to be a disturbing lack of coherence and urgency in the BEIS’s work on forced labour. The government’s response fails to provide reassurance to customers that they aren’t contributing to supply chains tainted by modern slavery, and lets down British businesses who are trying to do the right thing and ensure their supply chains don’t profit from forced labour.
"At the very least you would expect the government to ensure that its procurement process is free of slave labour and I will push for a Uyghur genocide government procurement blacklist.
“I urge the government to think again, revisit the report's recommendations, and give these serious matters the prominence they deserve.”
A government spokesperson said: “Evidence of the scale and the severity of the human rights violations being perpetrated in Xinjiang paints a truly harrowing picture and the British government will not stand for forced labour, wherever it takes place.
“In January, we announced a robust package of measures to ensure no UK organisations are complicit in the serious human rights violations being perpetrated against the Uyghurs and other minorities in Xinjiang, and we are taking forward proposals to strengthen the law in this area.”
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