Modern slavery statement

Every year, we take steps to ensure that slavery and human trafficking are not taking place within our Trust or supply chains. This is a requirement under Section 54 of the UK Modern Slavery Act 2015.

We believe the Trust has a low risk of slavery or human trafficking. As the area of highest risk is most likely to be with our suppliers, we regularly review our procurement practices to explicitly include the Act's requirements.

NHFT has identified the policies that required the addition of appropriate reference to the Modern Slavery Act and its requirement:  

• The Trust's e-learning module on equality and diversity includes training on the awareness of human trafficking and forced labour and provides advice on what to do if this is suspected. The module is mandatory for all new staff and refresher training, and participation is monitored and reported on.
• Tender documentation for goods and services procurement, and business development healthcare services, routinely includes questions as part of the tender return to determine eligible bidders' compliance with the requirements of the Modern Slavery Act.
• Agency staff provision and the recruitment process have processes in place to detect and prevent the incidence of modern slavery.
• The programme of validation for all suppliers will continue as an embedded part of annual reporting by NHFT. The expectation of the Act is that published statements demonstrate improvement in detection and prevention of modern slavery, and that organisations can demonstrate their own improvement in detecting and preventing incidences of modern slavery.

NHFT will continue:

• Ongoing assessment of our contracts which have the highest risk of modern slavery.
• To use our premarket engagement to support assurance that our suppliers comply with the Modern Slavery Act.
• To include an Modern Slavery Act clause in our standard terms and conditions.