Government issues procurement policy note on tackling modern slavery risks in supply chains

The Cabinet Office has issued guidance setting out how UK Government departments must take action to ensure modern slavery risks are identified and managed in government supply chains.

The contents of the procurement policy note (PPN) apply to all Central Government Departments, their Executive Agencies and Non-Departmental Public Bodies, and NHS bodies.

The PPN says these 'In-Scope Organisations' must use the guidance ‘Tackling Modern Slavery in Government Supply Chains’ to identify and manage risks in both new procurement activity and existing contracts.

It adds:

• The table used for assessing the risk of modern slavery has been updated to include current global modern slavery risks in key sectors of concern such as cotton, PPE and polysilicon.
• There is a new requirement for supply chain information to be provided at the selection stage of new procurements designated as high risk of modern slavery.
• There is additional guidance on enhanced due diligence activities and on using existing exclusion grounds more effectively.

The ‘In-Scope Organisations’ should begin to take action to apply the PPN to existing contracts, and to new procurement activity from 1 April 2023.

Oher public sector contracting authorities may wish to apply the approach set out in the PPN, the Cabinet Office said.