Agenda item

6.1

It was moved by Councillor Ben Curran, and seconded by Councillor Abtisam Mohamed, that this Council:-

(a)       notes with immense sadness that the injustice of slavery still persists in the modern world, with an estimated 13,000 victims of slavery in the UK today – with sexual exploitation, trafficking or domestic servitude, and forced labour, just some of the horrific forms it can take;

(b)       believes that modern slavery can often operate in plain sight and that everything possible must be done to eradicate the scourge of slavery;

(c)        contends that Labour and Labour & Co-operative councils across England are leading the way with a new Charter to ensure exploitation has no place in council supply chains;

(d)       notes that the Co-operative Party's Charter against Modern Slavery goes further than existing law and guidance, committing councils to proactively vetting their own supply chain to ensure no instances of modern slavery are taking place;

(e)       welcomes the commitment from the present Administration to fully adopt the Co-operative Party’s Charter against Modern Slavery;

(f)        notes that, by doing so, the Council is pledging to guarantee that modern slavery is cut from the supply chain by committing to 10 measures, including: challenging abnormally low-cost tenders to ensure they do not rely on potential contractors practising modern slavery; ensuring workers throughout the supply-line are free to join a trade union and are not treated unfairly for belonging to one; and that the Council will report publicly on the implementation of the policy every year;

(g)       contends that the Government’s hostile environment on immigration since 2010 demonstrates their lack of authenticity in dealing with modern day slavery and, as such, it is even more essential that leadership in tackling this is provided by local government; and

(h)       believes that tackling modern slavery and focusing on ethical trade is essential and support is given to the Administration for ensuring high standards of ethical practice in the way the Council works through the Ethical Procurement Policy.

6.2

Whereupon, it was moved by Councillor Penny Baker, seconded by Councillor Richard Shaw, as an amendment, that the Motion now submitted be amended by:-

1.         the deletion of paragraphs (c), (d) and (g), and the re-lettering of original paragraphs (e) and (f) as new paragraphs (c) and (d);

2.         the addition of new paragraphs (e) to (k) as follows:-

(e)       welcomes the on-going review of the Modern Slavery Act and hopes this will result in a less hostile environment that allows victims of modern slavery and human trafficking to come forward without fear of prosecution or unwelcome ramifications;

(f)        welcomes the recent announcement that the UK government and other international governments have committed to adopting principles to tackle modern slavery in the supply line;

(g)       notes the Liberal Democrats in Government helped to deliver the Modern Slavery Act which makes it easier to identify victims and bring traffickers to justice, and prosecutions have increased as a result;

(h)       however, believes that many of the current Government’s policies are undermining this effort to tackle it, for example they created a new offence of "illegal working", which traffickers use to keep victims in fear of prosecution if they seek help;

(i)         commends the work achieved by Liberal Democrats in Government to deliver the Work in Freedom initiative to prevent trafficking and forced labour among women migrant workers from South Asia, which the Department for International Development continues to fund;

(j)         believes that Brexit will massively damage the fight to end modern slavery and human trafficking, as workers will rely on their employer for visas, meaning anyone attempting to escape exploitation could face deportation, especially in regards to temporary farm workers;

(k)        further believes that Brexit puts at risk vital cross-border institutions and co-operation that we rely on to fight modern slavery and human trafficking;

3.         the re-lettering of original paragraph (h) as a new paragraph (l).

6.3

It was then moved by Councillor Douglas Johnson, seconded by Councillor Kaltum Rivers, as an amendment, that the Motion now submitted be amended by:-

1.         the addition of new paragraphs (g) to (i) as follows, and the re-lettering of original paragraphs (g) and (h) as new paragraphs (j) and (k);

(g)       notes that, by doing so, the Council would also commit to imposing requirements on its contractors, with contract termination as a possible sanction for non-compliance;

(h)       looks forward to an assessment by this Administration of whether, and how, it meets each of the points in the Charter against Modern Slavery;

(i)         further, looks forward to an audit by this Administration of which of its suppliers currently comply with section 54 of the Modern Slavery Act by publishing a slavery and human trafficking statement each year;

2.         the addition of new paragraphs (l) and (m) as follows:-

(l)         notes that, despite this Council, on 2nd July 2014, resolving to use powers to exclude companies with a poor track record of breaches of human rights and equality laws, its ethical procurement policy was not brought into force until 2018; and

(m)      calls on the Administration to publish a final version of the Council’s own Modern Slavery Strategy.

6.4

After contributions from four other Members, and following a right of reply from Councillor Ben Curran, the amendment moved by Councillor Penny Baker was put to the vote and was negatived.

6.4.1

(NOTE: Councillors Kaltum Rivers, Douglas Johnson, Robert Murphy and Martin Phipps voted for part 3 and paragraphs (e), (f), (h), (j) and (k) of part 2 of the amendment, and abstained from voting on part 1 and paragraphs (g) and (i) of part 2 of the amendment, and asked for this to be recorded.)

6.5

The amendment moved by Councillor Douglas Johnson was then put to the vote and was also negatived.

6.6

The original Motion was then put to the vote and carried as follows:-

RESOLVED: That this Council:-

(a)       notes with immense sadness that the injustice of slavery still persists in the modern world, with an estimated 13,000 victims of slavery in the UK today – with sexual exploitation, trafficking or domestic servitude, and forced labour, just some of the horrific forms it can take;

(b)       believes that modern slavery can often operate in plain sight and that everything possible must be done to eradicate the scourge of slavery;

(c)        contends that Labour and Labour & Co-operative councils across England are leading the way with a new Charter to ensure exploitation has no place in council supply chains;

(d)       notes that the Co-operative Party's Charter against Modern Slavery goes further than existing law and guidance, committing councils to proactively vetting their own supply chain to ensure no instances of modern slavery are taking place;

(e)       welcomes the commitment from the present Administration to fully adopt the Co-operative Party’s Charter against Modern Slavery;

(f)        notes that, by doing so, the Council is pledging to guarantee that modern slavery is cut from the supply chain by committing to 10 measures, including: challenging abnormally low-cost tenders to ensure they do not rely on potential contractors practising modern slavery; ensuring workers throughout the supply-line are free to join a trade union and are not treated unfairly for belonging to one; and that the Council will report publicly on the implementation of the policy every year;

(g)       contends that the Government’s hostile environment on immigration since 2010 demonstrates their lack of authenticity in dealing with modern day slavery and, as such, it is even more essential that leadership in tackling this is provided by local government: and

(h)       believes that tackling modern slavery and focusing on ethical trade is essential and support is given to the Administration for ensuring high standards of ethical practice in the way the Council works through the Ethical Procurement Policy.

6.6.1

(NOTE: Councillors Bob Pullin, Richard Shaw, Adam Hanrahan, Mohammed Mahroof, Joe Otten, Colin Ross, Martin Smith, Shaffaq Mohammed, Paul Scriven, Sue Alston, Andrew Sangar, Cliff Woodcraft, Ian Auckland, Sue Auckland, Steve Ayris, Gail Smith, Penny Baker, Vickie Priestley and Mike Levery voted for paragraphs (a), (b), (d), (e), (f) and (h), and against paragraphs (c) and (g) of the Motion, and asked for this to be recorded.)