Modern Slavery Statement

All clinical or non-clinical staff within the Trust have a responsibility to consider issues regarding modern slavery and incorporate their understanding of these issues into their day to day practice. In agreement with the Modern Slavery Act 2015, County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust is committed to preventing acts of modern slavery i.e. human trafficking and slavery within both its business and supply chain. Following this, the Trust imposes those high standards on its suppliers.

The Trust is fully aware of the responsibilities it bears towards patients, employees and the local community and as such, we have a strict set of ethical values that we use as guidance with regard to commercial activities. In compliance with the consolidation of offences relating to trafficking and slavery within the Modern Slavery Act 2015, the Trust is constantly reviewing its supply chains when procuring, in particular where the Trust Group undertake their own procurement processes.

To date we have reviewed our supply chain and identified general potential areas of risk including:

• Provision of Food

• Construction

• Cleaning

• Linen & Clothing (Work Wear)

When undertaking our own procurement processes the Trust asks bidding suppliers to confirm if they are a commercial organisation as defined in Section 54 ("Transparency in supply chains etc.") of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 ("the Act"). If they answer yes to this question they are asked if they are compliant with the annual reporting requirements contained within Section 54 of the Act 2015. Such self-declarations are endorsed within the Public Contracts Regulations (PCR) 2015. Should there be any concerns with their self-declaration the responsible procurement officer will investigate accordingly. In addition, Procurement work with suppliers to identify and minimise ethical issues in supply chains by investigating abnormally low bids in line with the PCR 2015 and challenging the status quo, including but not limited to:

o            Modern slavery

o            Corruption

o            Bribery

o            Human trafficking

Modern Slavery and ethical procurement are embedded in the Trust's Sustainable Procurement Policy.

To ensure all procurement staff have the necessary knowledge and skills to identify and raise any concerns every member of the team is required to undertake Ethics eLearning and must pass an Ethics Test via the Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply (CIPS) on an annual basis.

Further information on Modern Day Slavery can be found by visiting: Modern slavery - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)