Government ministers questioned on business and human rights
6 February 2017
- Watch Parliament TV: Human Rights and Business
- Inquiry: Human Rights and Business
- Joint Committee on Human Rights
Witnesses
Wednesday 8 February 2017, Committee Room 1, Palace of Westminster
From 3.15pm
- Margot James MP, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
- Chris Carr, Deputy Director Corporate Frameworks & Accountability, Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
- Sarah Newton MP, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Home Office
From 4.00pm
- Rt Hon Baroness Anelay of St Johns DBE, Minister for the Commonwealth and the UN, Foreign and Commonwealth Office
- Rob Fenn, Head of Human Rights and Democracy Department, Foreign and Commonwealth Office
- Rt Hon Sir Oliver Heald QC MP, Minister for Courts and Justice, Ministry of Justice
- Rob Linham OBE, Acting Deputy Director, Human Rights and Devolution Policy, Ministry of Justice
Focus of the session
The session looks at measures actions taken by the Government to improve business human rights compliance, such as the National Action Plan and Modern Slavery Act. Are they working? Are they effective in making businesses responsible for issues further down the supply chain? Do they provide sufficient transparency of business actions? It also examines some of the ways in which access to justice might be improved for victims of human rights abuses by companies.
Chair's comment
Harriet Harman, Chair of the Joint Committee on Human Rights, said:
"While there is no doubt that over recent years the UK has taken steps to strengthen the scrutiny of how businesses operate and treat their employees, we must now assess how effective these measures have been and if they need to be improved. Have government ministers identified any weaknesses in current mechanisms for protecting human rights from abuses by businesses? Are the avenues for employees and other victims to seek redress for human rights abuses currently good enough?
In the course of our sessions on human rights and business, we have heard worrying evidence that Brexit might lead to reduced protections for workers, and a reluctance to seek redress when their human rights are violated. How will the Government tackle these issues? And will they commit to ensuring that high quality trade clauses are a part of all future bilateral trade deals, as they are in EU trade agreements?"
Further information
Image: PA