Slavery in The 21st Century

announced in order to provide a
publicly searchable, accessible
registry for companies to share
their statements. At the point of
launch, on the 1st April 2016, it
was partnered with, amongst
others, the Welsh Government,
the Chartered Institute of
Procurement & Supply, the
International Chamber of
Commerce (ICC), and Business
West. On 31 January 2017 it had
10,153 companies with
statements held within its open
data register, making it the
largest modern slavery statement
register globally.
Prostitution
In November 2014 Fiona
Mactaggart MP added an
amendment to the bill concerning
prostitution, aimed at
criminalising the purchase of sex.
In the bill's debate in the House
House of Commons, John McDonnell MP argued against the amendment. He
highlighted the lack of evidence for any correlation between the Swedish sex purchase
ban and a reduction in numbers of sex workers or their clients, and cited findings "that
not only do such measures not work, they actually cause harm". McDonnell quoted
Reverend Andrew Dotchin, a founding member of the Safety First Coalition: “I strongly
oppose clauses on prostitution in the Modern Slavery Bill, which would make the
purchase of sex illegal. Criminalizing clients does not stop prostitution, nor does it stop
the criminalization of women. It drives prostitution further underground, making it more
dangerous and stigmatizing for women.” The amendment was subsequently dropped.
Tied Visas
In March 2015 an amendment was brought forward in the House of Lords concerning
migrant workers who are brought to the UK by their employer using "tied visas". These
workers are typically foreign domestic workers and they are not allowed to legally leave
their job and find employment elsewhere. The system of tied visas, introduced in 2012,
has been compared to the Kafala system of employer-sponsored workers used in some
Middle East countries. The amendment would have given workers in the UK using tied
visas the right to change employer, but it was rejected by the House of Commons.
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