Member

We understand the point that noble Lords have made about developing a UK supply chain. We are already fast-tracking investment in domestic offshore wind supply chains and are looking at other opportunities as well. Of course I take that point from the noble Lord, Lord Alton, about criminal convictions being taken as the only evidence of modern slavery. The point is that we expect UK businesses to do everything in their power to remove any instances of forced labour from their supply chain, which does not need to rely solely on convictions as evidence. New measures in the Procurement Act strengthen the rules on disregarding bids and excluding suppliers where there is evidence of modern slavery. This would apply even in circumstances where there has not yet been a conviction or breach of an international treaty.