Our commitment
The Council recognises that it has a responsibility to take a robust approach to modern slavery and human trafficking. In addition to the Councils responsibility as an employer, it also acknowledges its duty as a Council and ‘First Responder’ to notify the Secretary of State of suspected victims of slavery or human trafficking as introduced by section 52 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015. To support this requirement, the Council will ensure staff are suitably trained to spot the signs and pass on relevant information for referral.
The Council currently has processes and procedures as a part of its Safeguarding Policy in relation to modern slavery, and work will continue to further raise awareness of these processes.
Between April 2019 and December 2023, a total of 207 referrals from Rotherham were made by the Council and other First Responder Organisations to the NRM. The Council will continue to monitor the number of referrals and the action that it and other agencies have taken in respect of them.
The Council is committed to preventing slavery and human trafficking and to ensuring that its supply chains are free from slavery and human trafficking. This is managed by officers being made aware of the potential for modern slavery risks through awareness raising and appropriate briefings, alongside establishing robust assurance. They will consider the potential and likelihood of modern slavery and, where these are deemed to be high, they will seek to develop a clear understanding of the supplier's supply chain arrangements:
The Council’s clear commitment is as follows:
- That the Co-operative Party’s Charter against Modern Slavery be adopted to ensure that our practices don’t support slavery.
- That the Corporate Procurement Team be trained to understand modern slavery through the Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supplies (CIPS) online course on Ethical Procurement and Supply.
- That contractors be required to comply fully with the Modern Slavery Act 2015, wherever it applies, with contract termination as a potential sanction for non-compliance.
- That any abnormally low-cost tender be challenged to ensure that they do not rely upon the potential contractor practising modern slavery.
- That suppliers be advised that contracted workers are free to join a trade union and should not be treated unfairly for belonging to one.
- That the whistleblowing system for staff to blow the whistle on any suspected examples of modern slavery be publicised.
- That tendered contractors be required to adopt a whistleblowing policy which enables their staff to blow the whistle on any suspected examples of modern slavery.
- That contractual spending be reviewed regularly to identify any potential issues with modern slavery.
- That suppliers be advised of any risk identified concerning modern slavery and refer them to the relevant agencies to be addressed.
- That any contractor who is identified as a cause for concern regarding modern slavery be referred for investigation via the National Crime Agency’s national referral mechanism.
- That a report on the implementation of this policy be published annually
The Council has publicly committed to adopt the Co-Operative party Charter Against Modern Slavery, details of which can be found on the following link: Modern Slavery Charter