Action required

The Board is invited to:

1. Note the actions NHS England has taken since last year’s modern slavery update to the Board, including new regulations and public consultation outcome and updated draft NHS guidance in tackling modern slavery in NHS procurement.
2. Note and approve the information provided in this year’s modern slavery statement as correspondence to be published.
3. Approve continued delegation to the Chief Commercial Officer to make non-material changes to the NHS Guidance on tackling Modern Slavery in NHS Supply Chains.

Issue

1. The Health and Care Act 2022 mandated new regulations to address the risk of modern slavery in NHS Supply Chains. Following a public consultation, the regulations and supporting draft NHS guidance have been updated in preparation for an upcoming parliamentary debate.

2. Under section 54 (Transparency in Supply Chains) of the Modern Slavery Act 2015, NHS England has a commitment to publish a modern slavery annual statement noted and approved by the Board (see Enclosure 1).

Background

3. Modern slavery is a crime resulting in an abhorrent abuse of human rights. It is an umbrella term, encompassing human trafficking, slavery, servitude and forced labour. NHS England fully supports the Government’s ambition to eradicate modern slavery.

4. In April 2024 the NHS England Board (BC2402) approved draft NHS guidance in support of the new regulations on modern slavery in NHS supply chains in preparation for the public consultation. The public consultation was delayed until late 2024 due to the UK general election.

5. DHSC and NHS England have worked jointly on the development of the new regulations and NHS guidance throughout. The proposed regulations require public bodies to assess and address modern slavery risks proportionately when procuring for the NHS. They formalise Procurement Policy Note 009 (tackling modern slavery in government supply chains) and are amplified in the NHS guidance, which supports NHS bodies to understand the actions they should take to comply (Tackling modern slavery in NHS procurement (draft guidance) – GOV.UK). The regulations also build in due diligence requirements on supplier modern slavery statements.

6. Following a review of the Modern Slavery Act 2015, the recommendation to extend publication of a modern slavery annual statement to the public sector, and aligned to section 54 (Transparency in Supply Chains) (Independent Review of the Modern Slavery Act 2015; UK Govt. Response to the Independent Review of the Modern Slavery Act 2015), was established through Procurement Policy Note 05/19. Their importance for the public sector continues to be referenced in the latest Procurement Policy Notice 009 updated in February 2025.

7. Last year’s statement was noted and approved by the NHS Board (BC2402) on 17 April 2024 and published on 16 July 2024 (delay due to UK general election) – NHS England » NHS England modern slavery and human trafficking statement.

Considerations

8. In 2024, the draft regulations underwent a 12-week public consultation, which closed on 13 February 2025. Responses have been reviewed by DHSC, with a government response to be published in due course. The consultation was widely promoted via Government web pages, NHS commercial bulletins, forums, and joint webinars with DHSC to NHS teams and our supply chain. The published draft documents can be accessed from the consultation page.

9. The Government’s official response to the public feedback will set out the changes the government has or will make in response to the main points raised in the consultation and will explain the reasons for the approach taken. We do not expect any material changes to the regulations (only minor clarifications), or previously approved NHS guidance, and the original intentions remain the same.

10. DHSC are working towards a parliamentary debate on the new regulations prior to summer recess, subject to the parliamentary timetable. To meet the parliamentary deadlines, and ensure accountability remains in the most appropriate function, continued delegation to the Chief Commercial Officer to make any further non-material changes is needed (NHS England Bd (BC2310) – approved delegated authority to CCO, dated 5 Sep 2023).

11. This year’s modern slavery annual statement is set out as per the Home Office guidance for publishing an annual modern slavery statement and includes actions to support the implementation of new regulations, policies and guidance (Publish an annual modern slavery statement – GOV.UK).

12. In line with our published operational planning guidance and current operating model, to help and support Regions, ICBs and Providers, this year’s statement is being made as a ‘group statement’ for them to refer to. This approach is endorsed by the Home Office led consultation to reduce administrative burden, prevent duplication and increase consistency (Transparency in supply chains, Government response).

13. The statement sets out NHS England’s key policies, due diligence process, risk assessment and management, monitoring of effectiveness and training provided, alongside our future actions. Notable actions we have delivered since last year’s statement include:

• We have created a Modern Slavery Risk Assessment Tool, which has been available since December 2024 through the health family’s e-commerce system (Atamis), enabling consistent pre-procurement risk assessment and supporting system compliance.
• Following a thorough consultation process with stakeholders, we have adopted amendments to the NHS Standard Contract (Section 19) for 2025/26, to call attention to procurement risk assessments, future regulations and guidance.
• In collaboration with DHSC, we have drafted new regulations and NHS guidance, and undertaken a significant public consultation exercise with the system and our supply chain..
• We have completed the roll out of a single e-commerce system, Atamis, across the NHS, which enables the use of standardised templates to manage modern slavery through procurement.
• We launched a training needs analysis to assess commercial skills and competency requirements for addressing modern slavery. This will help identify any skills gaps and inform where further national activity is needed.

14. As part of the NHS guiding principle to provide best value for taxpayers’ money, Ministers have also directed NHS England to strengthen our commitment to uphold ethical procurement practices, and human rights, in relevant policy publications.

15. Following an internal audit review of our statutory duties on managing the risks of modern slavery in the supply chain, we are in the process of completing an action plan to deliver on its recommendations. This includes addressing the audit observations to more effectively identify, assess, manage and govern modern slavery risks across the commercial lifecycle. The action plan will ensure NHS England:

• Assesses current modern slavery risk across active contracts.
• Defines, documents and implements processes to identify and monitor modern slavery risk across the commercial lifecycle.
• Implements an approach to raise awareness and deliver training for modern slavery risks for relevant staff, including a process to monitor attendance and completion of training.

We have already made good progress on reviewing existing contracts risk levels, building a performance monitoring dashboard, training for commercial teams, and updating our contract management framework.

Enclosure:

1. NHS Modern Slavery Annual Statement 2024/25