Business and technology leaders should work together to tackle modern slavery, the Home Office has said at a two-day event in London.
The ‘TechCamp’ conference, jointly hosted by the Home Office, charity Unseen and consultancy firm Deloitte, sough to provide what the organisers termed low-cost technology solutions to help companies make sure their supply chains are slavery free.
It comes after the government’s inclusion of a provision in the Modern Slavery Bill which requires large companies to disclose to the public the steps they have taken to ensure modern slavery does not have a place in their business. In February, a consultation was launched to ask what size of business this new requirement should apply to and what the accompanying statutory guidance for businesses should cover. The Government says that the bill is due to become law by the end of March. The event sought to identify supply chain risks that transcend industries and explore how technology and big data can address this.
Speaking at the opening of the event Minister for Modern Slavery and Organised Crime Karen Bradley said: “Work on this subject and the outcomes of this event will be pioneering. The Modern Slavery Bill is one of the first of its kind in the world, and the transparency in supply chains measure goes further than any other legislation. How businesses respond to it will be crucial. I want to challenge them to look for the most innovative, the most exciting, the most far reaching and forward thinking solutions to the problem of modern slavery in supply chains. Together I am confident that we will meet these challenges, and lift thousands of vulnerable people out of horrendous abuse.”
