Baroness Jones of Whitchurch, Department for Business and Trade, provided the following answer to your written parliamentary question (HL3):
Question by Lod Alton of Liverpool:
To ask His Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the reports from Sheffield Hallam University In Broad Daylight: Uyghur Forced Labour and Global Solar Supply Chains and Over-Exposed: Uyghur Region Exposure Assessment for Solar Industry Sourcing in framing their trade policies. (HL3)
Tabled on: 17 July 2024
Answer:
Baroness Jones of Whitchurch:
No company in the UK should have forced labour in its supply chain. The Department for Business and Trade will be working with colleagues across Government to tackle forced labour in supply chains, including polysilicon used in the manufacture of solar panels.
The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero is relaunching the Solar Taskforce, which will focus on identifying and developing supply chains that are resilient, sustainable and free from forced labour.
The Government’s Overseas Business Risk guidance makes clear to UK companies the risks of operating in certain regions and urges them to conduct appropriate due diligence when making business decisions.
Date and time of answer: 24 Jul 2024 at 13:40.
