Birmingham Council signs pledge to reduce risks of modern slavery

The Council committed to proactively working to ensure there are no instances of modern slavery within its supply chain by signing the Co-operative Party’s Charter Against Modern Slavery.

Birmingham City Council has provided enhanced training for its procurement staff, reviewed its internal modern slavery training, and offered enhanced training to Modern Slavery Champions across the Council, alongside encouraging staff to report serious wrongdoing through a whistleblowing hotline.

As the largest local authority in Europe, Birmingham is the largest council to sign the charter, with its suppliers being monitored, ensuring any concerns of modern slavery are alerted to the relevant authorities.

The Council will also challenge any abnormally low-cost tenders, and require tendered contractors to adopt a whistle-blowing policy on modern slavery, with any concerns referred to the National Crime Agency.

Cllr John Cotton, cabinet member for social inclusion, community safety and equalities, said: ‘Modern slavery is a really serious issue that leads to the exploitation of people, who are made to work long hours often in unsafe conditions and not for fair pay.

‘That’s why I’ve signed the Co-operative Party’s charter on the city council’s behalf, to ensure we’re vetting our suppliers and supply chain to ensure there are no incidents of modern slavery within businesses that work with us.

‘We will ensure all our contractors are aware of their requirements under the Modern Slavery Act and we will make it easy for council staff to report any issues to us through our whistleblowing policy.’

The Council will also be signing its annual Modern Slavery Transparency Statement next month, which is expected to pledge to only use ethical imagery and language around modern slavery and involve survivors of exploitation in its work around this issue.

Joe Fortune, general secretary of the Co-operative Party, said: ‘The Co-operative Party is delighted that Birmingham City Council has signed our Charter Against Modern Slavery.

‘Modern Slavery is a scourge on society, and it is landmark achievement that one of Britain’s largest councils is taking this important step to clamp down on those who would profit out of human misery.’

In related news, victims and survivors of domestic abuse and sexual violence in West Yorkshire are expected to receive enhanced levels of support following an over £2m funding boost.

Photo by Tom W