Foreword
The following statement, in accordance with the Modern Slavery Act 2015, is made in relation to the financial year 2020/21 and outlines the actions we are taking to ensure that neither modern slavery nor human trafficking is taking place within our own business and supply chains.
Modern slavery is a crime and a violation of fundamental human rights. It takes various forms such as slavery, servitude, forced and compulsory labour and human trafficking, all of which have in common the deprivation of a person’s liberty by another in order to exploit them for personal or commercial gain.
As a public sector organisation, West Midlands Combined Authority recognises that we have a corporate responsibility to take a robust approach to slavery and human trafficking. We have a zero-tolerance approach to modern slavery and we are committed to acting ethically and with integrity and transparency in all our business dealings and to implementing and enforcing effective systems and controls to safeguard against any form of modern slavery taking place anywhere within our own business or supply chains.
West Midlands Combined Authority acknowledges its responsibility as a ‘First Responder’ under Section 52 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015, to report all instances, when there are reasonable grounds to believe a person may be a victim of modern slavery or human trafficking, to the Home Office.