Modern Slavery Bill

It is a pleasure to open this important debate. Modern slavery in supply chains is an issue that ...

I am grateful that the Minister is introducing this clause. May I ask two questions? When compani...

I thank the right hon. Gentleman for his questions. Later in my remarks I will come to how we env...

Like the right hon. Member for Birkenhead (Mr Field), I am grateful that the measure is being inc...

My right hon. Friend deserves credit for campaigning tirelessly on this and other issues related ...

I look forward to hearing further details. We are all aware that over the weekend, for example, t...

I take my right hon. Friend’s comments and will ensure that they are considered in the process. H...

The Minister has not spelled out any dates. The matter has gone through the Joint Committee, it h...

I will come, as I said, to how we envisage the measure working. My hon. Friend reflects exactly t...

My hon. Friend refers to the proposed amendment to the Companies Act. Does she accept that when P...

My hon. Friend, who was such a committed member of the Public Bill Committee, makes an important ...

I take the Minister’s point about the Government’s approach being superior to our proposal to ame...

The right hon. Gentleman makes exactly the right point. This is about ensuring that any company d...

I thank the Minister for working so hard to introduce new clause 11, which I very much welcome. W...

I thank my right hon. Friend for his comments and for all his work, not only in the Public Bill C...

I commend my hon. Friend for listening to Members on both sides of the House regarding the supply...

I thank my right hon. Friend for her comments. She, too, was a member of the pre-legislative scru...

The Minister is being very generous in giving way. This whole measure can be seen not as a burden...

My hon. Friend is right to say that this process does not need to wait for the legislation to com...

Will not successful disclosures involve some companies that, having found they are guilty of havi...

The right hon. Gentleman is absolutely right. This is about getting transparency in supply chains...

I rise to welcome the Government’s new clause 11 and to speak to new clause 5, which stands in my...

The hon. Lady is making powerful points about what teeth the guidance will have. Does she think t...

I could not agree more. That is why it was important that I set out why new clause 5 deals in det...

I thank the hon. Lady for giving way—I hope she will be able to wet her whistle while I speak. Do...

The right hon. Gentleman makes a very important point. Time is limited this afternoon, but I hope...

It is a pleasure to contribute to this debate and, in particular, to support the principles in ne...

Could not other countries follow our lead by simply taking new clause 11 into their legislation?<...

Other countries could do that, but they have different means of enforcement, which cannot be simp...

My hon. Friend has done valiant work on this topic. I agree with him that the enforcement angle n...

I do not want to understate my praise—this is a huge step forward—but we, as legislators, want to...

I, too, want to pursue the theme just followed by the hon. Member for Enfield, Southgate (Mr Burr...

In following the right hon. Member for Birkenhead (Mr Field), I want to acknowledge the Minister’...

It is a great pleasure to stand up on Report and commend the Government on the progress we have m...

The hon. Gentleman makes a valid point that some people will seek to avoid the provisions, but do...

I have absolutely no reservation in supporting that as a principle. We are doing the right thing....

I, too, was milk boy, and a butcher’s boy and a paper boy, in my younger days. My hon. Friend has...

I could not quote the legal detail, but I would think that if a company based in the UK did thing...

I will not detain the House for long as we have other matters to come on to, but I want to make a...

I am sure the Minister is aware that one of the common tactics used by banks when subject to regu...

I hope that businesses will act in a way that deals with this problem. That is what businesses to...

On consumer action, what are the Government’s intentions with regard to public procurement, becau...

I addressed that point briefly in my opening comments, but I will come on to it again in a moment...

The Minister speaks very well on Parliament giving affirmative support to these proposals. Does s...

The shadow Minister makes the point that perhaps that needs to be by the end of March, if the rig...

I beg to move, That the clause be read a Second time.

With this it will be convenient to discuss the following:

New clause 4—Offence of exploitat...

New clause 3 and new clause 4 seek to introduce specific offences for child and adult exploitatio...

Is the hon. Lady as surprised as I am that, as far as I am aware, only one person has ever gone t...

The hon. Gentleman makes a very important point. We shall discuss the GLA later, but the hon. Gen...

Does the hon. Lady agree that the offence of exploitation ought to be committed even when the thr...

The right hon. Gentleman makes an important point, which should perhaps be debated more fully in ...

One problem—not necessarily about the offences per se—is getting the victims to bear witness and ...

I absolutely agree with the right hon. Gentleman about the need to ensure that victims feel able ...

The Modern Slavery Bill recognises our obligations under article 4 of the European convention on ...

rose—

Order. I remind Members that, as a result of the timetable set by the Government, the debate on t...

I will indeed bear that in mind, Madam Deputy Speaker, and will speak briefly, although I think t...

The official figures for this year showed that more people were trafficked for labour exploitatio...

I also wish to speak on that theme, Madam Deputy Speaker. I know you will be pleased to hear that...

Before I call Mr David Burrowes, I must ask him to bear in mind that we have one more speaker on ...

I rise to commend my hon. Friend the Member for North East Cambridgeshire (Stephen Barclay), part...

We have no time, but I just want to put on the record that I agree with the hon. Gentleman.

I thank the hon. Lady very much. I am sure we can find a way of putting in the Bill our understan...

The hon. Member for Kingston upon Hull North (Diana Johnson) referred to my amendment 138, which ...

I am grateful to all Members for tabling and speaking to a number of amendments that relate to th...

I beg to move, That the clause be read a Second time.

With this it will be convenient to discuss the following:

New clause 16—Accommodation opera...

New clause 1 and the other amendments in this group address a wide range of issues that are linke...

Does the right hon. Gentleman recall that in Committee the Minister said that she would continue ...

The Minister said:

“The case has not been made for extending the GLA’s remit at this stage ...

As I understand it—forgive me if I have the wrong end of the stick—new clause 1 is simply to make...

I will address the hon. Gentleman’s points in the course of my remarks.

You will know, Mada...

When breaches by a gangmaster operating in a regulated sector such as agriculture are found by th...

The hon. Gentleman puts his finger on the point the Opposition made in Committee. Gangmasters are...

One reason why the Government have resisted such a measure is the view of the Secretary of State ...

The hon. Gentleman sits on the Government Benches, so I am not sure it is in order for us to agre...

I just want absolute clarity. The review in new clause 22, which I support, is a review before le...

The review, under subsection (1), is to be completed and a copy laid before Parliament within six...

This Bill?

This Bill. The purpose is to lay a legally binding commitment upon the Minister to produce a repo...

The right hon. Gentleman was a Minister and may well have been involved in introducing in 2009 th...

As ever, having had a ministerial career in the last Government, I have form on these issues. In ...

If my right hon. Friend had had Home Office evidence that this trade was worth £130 million a yea...

I do not think that we made a financial assessment of the value of the trade when I was a Ministe...

I want to develop the theme of how we can make prosecution and enforcement quicker and easier. I ...

Not Tesco.

Tesco has some serious questions to answer in terms of its supply chain and the way some of its o...

I rise to speak to new clauses 6 and 7 and amendment 1, which have been tabled in my name. In doi...

I wish to comment on new clause 2. This Bill is unique in that it is one piece of Home Office leg...

Let me make myself clear. I do not dispute Kalayaan’s figures. I was merely pointing out that the...

That is a helpful clarification. I agree with the Minister that we have to tackle the root cause ...

rose—

Order. A significant number of colleagues still seek to contribute. There is no formal time limit...

I commend new clause 22. We need the review that it proposes and a thorough investigation of the ...

As you know, Mr Speaker, I am standing down at the end of this Parliament, so I hope that I am al...

Order. I should just point out that that observation comes from the hon. Member from whose mouth ...

At the time I thought that it was appropriate, Mr Speaker, but I fear that your opportunities hav...

I will take your advice on brevity, Mr Speaker. I rise to support my party’s new clause 1 on gang...

Everything that my hon. Friend said about the struggle that he had to convince a number of organi...

There is no doubt in my mind whatsoever that the legislation must be extended.

We introduce...

I will speak very briefly, but I want to commend the Government and my hon. Friend the Minister o...

We are really short of time in this debate, so I apologise for taking more, Madam Deputy Speaker....

Could my hon. Friend quote some sources from Sweden? I understand that in Sweden they do not take...

I will come straight to that point, but let me go through the other organisations we have listene...

My hon. Friend said that the Swedish Government have no evidence for that, which is true, but the...

That was one survey where men who were asked, “Do you pay for sex, because you could be prosecute...

If I had longer I would list a huge number of women’s organisations, campaign groups and those de...

I am grateful to right hon. and hon. Members for tabling measures and speaking in this debate, wh...

I am encouraged that the Minister says her mind is open and that there will be further considerat...

If my right hon. Friend will allow me to continue my comments, I will speak first about new claus...

I thank the Minister for that reassurance and I will not be pressing the amendments to a Division...

That is a point for the review of the national referral mechanism. The interim report of that rev...

The debate on prostitution has seen a number of polarised positions, which shows the difficulty o...

I thank the hon. Gentleman for his contribution. I know he wanted to get into the debate, which i...

All the peer-reviewed academic evidence is against new clause 6. The hon. Member for Slough (Fion...

I thank my hon. Friend; I knew he wished to speak, too.

The Minister will be aware of legislation going through the Northern Ireland Assembly at this mom...

I also thank the hon. Gentleman for his comments. I discussed this issue with David Ford, the Jus...

I shall take the remaining minute and a half simply to make the point that the authoritarian, mor...

Will the hon. Gentleman give way?

No, I will not. It takes the scion of a couple of baronetcies with the education of Cheltenham La...

I beg to move, That the Bill be now read the Third time.

The injustice and suffering experi...

I am listening to the Secretary of State with interest. I am pleased to hear that she is putting ...

I say to the hon. Lady, who was, I believe, a member of the Bill Committee and has obviously been...

Will my right hon. Friend take time over the next few days to have a look at the record of this a...

I thank my hon. and learned Friend. I recognise that we were not able to respond to the specific ...

May I put on record my thanks to the Under-Secretary, who withstood and responded to robust chall...

It was always the intention that the anti-slavery commissioner would be independent and that does...

This is an important Bill, which we support, but it does not go far enough. The Home Secretary wa...

I hope the right hon. Lady realises that it is Anthony Steen, not Anthony Totnes. The quotation s...

The right hon. Gentleman has taken a great interest in this subject and he did an immense amount ...

John Uxbridge.

Yes, I reiterate my tribute to John Uxbridge, and to the former Member for Totnes, Anthony Steen,...

Last year, 2,744 people were trafficked across the United Kingdom, of whom 602 were children. Is ...

The hon. Gentleman is right. We know that the issue crosses borders and exists in different areas...

I want quickly to congratulate the Home Secretary, the Home Office and the Under-Secretary of Sta...

I have a couple of quick points but I shall try to leave time for other Members. I did not get a ...

I will leave time, I hope, for the right hon. Member for Birkenhead (Mr Field).

We have mov...

I underscore that last comment, which is immensely important. This has been the most open convers...