Contribution
It is a pleasure to see you in the Chair, Mrs Hobhouse. I thank the hon. Member for Glasgow North (Martin Rhodes) for his work in securing this debate and for his authoritative opening speech, which set out the case for Fairtrade with clarity and thoroughness. It was very impressive.
Fairtrade is a global system that connects farmers and workers from developing countries with consumers and businesses across the world to change trade for the better. For more than three decades, Fairtrade has been having an impact on the way that trade works. Fairtrade believes that every farmer and worker should have access to a better way of doing business and a better way of living. As a leader in a global movement to make trade fair, Fairtrade supports and challenges businesses and Governments, and connects farmers and workers with the people who buy their products. It has been a real pleasure to hear from the hon. Members for Ealing Central and Acton (Dr Huq) and for Cumbernauld and Kirkintilloch (Katrina Murray) about their experiences of being active in that movement.
Fairness is an important principle for the Liberal Democrats, and that should apply to the way that supply chains are managed by big companies working abroad. In our recent manifesto we committed to introducing a general duty of care for the environment and human rights in business operations and supply chains. Businesses are the principal engines of growth and prosperity in the UK. When businesses succeed, our communities succeed. We must work in partnership with business to provide stability, encourage investment and help maximise opportunities for growth and employment across the country. In return we ask that businesses not only commit to promoting skills, equality and good governance, but protect human rights and the environment in the communities where they work, whether at home or in the global supply chains on which they depend.
The Liberal Democrats support the introduction of a business, human rights and environment Act to require companies to take adequate measures or conduct due diligence to manage the impacts of their activities on people and the environment both in the UK and globally. We would also introduce a duty of care for the environment and human rights, requiring companies, financial institutions and public sector agencies to exercise due diligence in avoiding specified activities such as child labour or modern slavery in their operations and supply chains, and to report on their actions. We would ensure that all large companies have a formal statement of corporate purpose, including considerations such as employee welfare, environmental standards, community benefit and ethical practice alongside benefit to shareholders, and that they report formally on the wider impact of the business on society and the environment.
If we are to take tackling climate change seriously, businesses must play their part. That is why the Liberal Democrats would require all large companies listed on UK stock exchanges to set targets consistent with achieving the net zero goal and to report on their progress. We would reform the regulation of our services sector to encourage climate-friendly investments, including requiring pension funds and managers to show that their portfolio investments align with the Paris agreement and creating new powers for regulators to intervene if banks and other investors fail to manage climate risk properly.
Ethical supply chains and Fairtrade certification do not exist in isolation. They connect directly to our responsibilities in development and reducing global poverty. For that reason, we have called for the immediate restoration of UK aid spending at 0.5% of GNI and a road map to restore 0.7% of GNI as soon as possible within this Parliament. We would ensure that the UK’s international development spending is used effectively, with a primary focus on poverty reduction, including by putting the United Nations sustainable development goals at the heart of the UK’s international development policy, funding genuine partnerships that are rooted in local needs and developed on grounds of mutual respect, and tackling the growing global crisis of food insecurity and malnutrition by increasing the proportion of ODA committed to delivering lifesaving nutrition interventions.
Fairtrade certification has shown time and again that when we create systems that empower producers, protect rights and support sustainable agriculture, everybody benefits: farmers, consumers and business alike.