Lord Johnson of Lainston, Department for Business and Trade, provided the following answer to your written parliamentary question (HL7674):
Question by Lord ALTON of Liverpool :
To ask His Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking, in light of the findings of the report of Dr Adrian Zenz, to prevent companies sourcing Xinjiang cotton from supplying slave-made goods to UK consumers. (HL7674)
Tabled on: 09 May 2023
Answer:
Lord Johnson of Lainston:
The Government has taken several measures to ensure that no British organisations are profiting from or contributing to human rights violations in Xinjiang. Over the last year we introduced enhanced export controls, and announced plans to introduce financial penalties for organisations who fail to meet their statutory obligations to publish annual modern slavery statements.
The overseas business risk guidance makes clear to UK companies the risks of operating in Xinjiang and urges them to conduct appropriate due diligence and consider their corporate responsibilities when making business decisions.
Date and time of answer: 22 May 2023 at 12:56.
