Decision Details

E.... Proposer: Cllr Liddy

This Council resolves:

1. To ensure that the Council’s procurement practices do not support modern slavery  the Council will adopt and apply the Co-operative Party’s Charter Against Modern Slavery (as far as is legally possible), by

• Training its corporate procurement team to understand modern slavery through the Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply’s (CIPS) online course on Ethical Procurement and Supply.

• Requiring its contractors to comply fully with the Modern Slavery Act 2015, wherever it applies, with contract termination as a potential sanction for non-compliance.

• Challenging any abnormally low-cost tenders to ensure they do not rely upon a potential contractor practising modern slavery.

• Highlighting to its suppliers that contracted workers are free to join a trade union and are not to be treated unfairly for belonging to one.

• Publicising its whistle-blowing system for staff to blow the whistle on any suspected examples of modern slavery.

• Requiring its tendered contractors to adopt a whistle-blowing policy which enables their staff to blow the whistle on any suspected examples of modern slavery.

• Reviewing its contractual spending regularly to identify any potential issues with modern slavery.

• Highlighting for its suppliers any risks identified concerning modern slavery and refer them to the relevant agencies.

• Referring for investigation via the National Crime Agency’s national referral mechanism any of its contractors identified as a cause for concern regarding modern slavery.

• Reporting publicly on the implementation of this policy annually, in accordance with CBC Modern Slavery Act 2015 Transparency Statement 2016/17.

2. Ensure that it will do everything reasonably possible to tackle modern day slavery in line with the Local Government Association’s guidance and that it will also seek to ensure that any company that it has shares in will also do everything reasonably possible to tackle modern day slavery in line with the Local Government Association’s guidance.

3. Write to government to ask that support for victims of modern day slavery is extended beyond the current 45 days.

As the motion relates to an executive matter, it will stand referred to Cabinet unless Procedure Rule 11(2) is suspended.