Efforts to tackle modern day slavery are stalling with nearly half the number of companies disclosing anti-slavery measures within their supply chains, according to the international procurement body.
Only 29% of organisations required to produce a modern slavery statement have submitted it to the UK government registry for 2022, an analysis by the Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply (Cips) found.
It called on ministers to better enforce critical transparency rules that it said were being ignored.
Companies with a turnover of more than £36m a year are required to publish an annual statement outlining the steps they are making to address slavery in supply chains, according to the UK’s Modern Slavery Act 2015.
They are also “strongly encouraged” to submit statements to the Home Office’s modern slavery statement registry, although it is not mandatory.
However, the registry recorded just 8,074 statements submitted in 2022, a sharp 46% drop from the 15,019 submitted the previous year, the Cips found.
It is despite more than one-third of organisations saying they think modern slavery abuses are most likely to occur in the UK, as part of their supply chain, followed by 18% who said China and fewer than a 10th who said India, according to registry data.
The Cips noted that companies have a grace period of six months to produce 2022’s statement, but said efforts to submit statements could be waning without more government pressure.
David Taylor, its chief operating officer, said: “It is an open secret that vulnerable adults and children are exploited every day to produce the goods and services we consume.
“Organisations are facing enormous pressures across their supply chains and, in these circumstances, it might be tempting to turn a blind eye to modern slavery and prioritise other challenges.
“But it is precisely during times of economic hardship that we must be vigilant and keep up our efforts to tackle this issue.”
He said the data was a vital resource to help tackle modern slavery but is now being ignored. Furthermore, almost a quarter of the statements submitted last year lacked basic information about the steps being taken, such as including measurable goals.
The government is expected to introduce a new modern slavery bill to parliament this year that would make submissions mandatory for qualifying businesses.
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But the body pointed out that the government has not appointed someone to fill the post of independent anti-slavery commissioner since April last year, a role required to scrutinise legislation and hold companies to account.
The analysis comes after Rishi Sunak received criticism last week over his flagship immigration measures, which could make it harder for modern slavery and trafficking victims to come forward amid the risk of deportation.
The former prime minister Theresa May appealed for such victims to be excluded from changes within the illegal migration bill, which seeks to remove protections for people who are judged to have entered the UK illegally.
May said the bill would “drive a coach and horses through the Modern Slavery Act, denying support to those who have been exploited and enslaved”.
The Home Office minister Robert Jenrick, replying for the government, said it had seen “mounting evidence” of abuse of the modern slavery system.
