Modern slavery and human trafficking statement
This statement is provided on behalf of ͵ÅÄ͵¿ú and its subsidiary companies and charities and is made pursuant to section 54 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 (‘the Act’). It constitutes ͵ÅÄ͵¿ú’s statement for the financial year ended 31 March 2024.
Introduction
͵ÅÄ͵¿ú considers modern slavery and human trafficking extremely serious crimes, grave violations of human rights and contrary to the ethical standards and values we hold dear. As a charity that, as part of its wider objectives, fights for the protection and advancement of human rights in the UK, and around the world through our subsidiary charity, Age International, we have a zero-tolerance approach to such abuses. We are committed to preventing modern slavery in our organisation and ensuring that our supply chain is as equally free of both modern slavery and human trafficking (within the reasonable bounds of our influence and control to ensure compliance with the Act by our supply chain and / or assure ourselves of their compliance).
Our organisation
͵ÅÄ͵¿ú is a charity registered in England which exists to promote the wellbeing of older people. ͵ÅÄ͵¿ú comprises of ͵ÅÄ͵¿ú and its subsidiary charities and companies.
- ͵ÅÄ͵¿ú’s subsidiary charity, Age International, funds programmes in over 40 developing countries.
- ͵ÅÄ͵¿ú’s trading subsidiaries, ͵ÅÄ͵¿ú Trading CIC (Community Interest Company), and Age Co, generate income to fund the charity’s work. ͵ÅÄ͵¿ú Trading CIC also provided central support services and infrastructure.
͵ÅÄ͵¿ú and its subsidiaries employ around 1,600 staff, and benefits from the support of 4,000 volunteers in our c250 charity shops, in England and Wales, and a further 5,700 volunteers across our phone lines and other charitable activities.
The vast majority of our staff are employed directly by ͵ÅÄ͵¿ú and our subsidiaries and are not of an employment status generally considered to be vulnerable to modern slavery in this country. We are not complacent and have robust policies and procedures in place. Our focus, however, is on ensuring that our supply chain complies with the Act, relevant ͵ÅÄ͵¿ú policies and procedures, and our ethical standards.
Our supply chain
͵ÅÄ͵¿ú is committed to improving our practices to identify and eliminate modern slavery and human trafficking in our supply chains, and to act ethically and with integrity in all our business relationships. Our supply chains comprise of over 2,000 suppliers and contractors. ͵ÅÄ͵¿ú and our subsidiaries use the products and services we purchase from these suppliers to:
- Support our charitable activity and operations
- Provide products for resale in our charity shops
- Offer financial, insurance and legal services for sale to the public by third parties
͵ÅÄ͵¿ú works with the ͵ÅÄ͵¿ú network of over 130 independent charities to deliver charitable services in the UK. Age International works internationally through a network of partners and agencies, largely as the UK member of the HelpAge International global network.
Policies
͵ÅÄ͵¿ú endeavours to raise awareness among all employees of the identification, prevention and eradication of modern slavery and human trafficking, and has policies and procedures in place to ensure that they can do so. The ͵ÅÄ͵¿ú Procurement function operates across ͵ÅÄ͵¿ú’s subsidiaries, and has oversight of our supply chain. The relevant policies are:
- ͵ÅÄ͵¿ú’s Procurement Policy and Procedure requires that suppliers are formally approved by ͵ÅÄ͵¿ú’s Procurement team such that they can only provide goods and services after confirming compliance with all applicable regulations and legislation, including the Act.
- ͵ÅÄ͵¿ú’s Whistleblowing Policy and Procedure asks staff to confidentially report concerns including modern slavery or human trafficking.
- ͵ÅÄ͵¿ú’s Safeguarding Procedures acknowledges modern slavery as a form of abuse and, where there is a concern about a child (under 18 years) or an adult (18 or over) who needs care and support, this Policy takes effect.
Supply Chain Due Diligence
͵ÅÄ͵¿ú aims to work with only those suppliers that demonstrate high levels of commitment to monitoring and reducing the risk of modern slavery and human trafficking taking place within their organisations or supply chains. As a pre-condition to supplying ͵ÅÄ͵¿ú, suppliers must confirm their compliance with the Act. If a supplier fails to provide the information requested or meet ͵ÅÄ͵¿ú’s expectations, ͵ÅÄ͵¿ú will take appropriate action, which may include not entering into a relationship or terminating the relationship.
Progress in 2023/2024
In the 2023/24 financial year ͵ÅÄ͵¿ú has taken steps to provide additional assurance of our supply chain’s compliance with the Act:
- ͵ÅÄ͵¿ú continued to monitor all new suppliers prior to engaging with them to confirm compliance with the Act.
- ͵ÅÄ͵¿ú have been working with an outsourced procurement partner to improve its control over its supplier base and compliance with the Act.
Plans for 2024/2025
In the 2024/25 financial year ͵ÅÄ͵¿ú plans to take further steps to improve staff knowledge of modern slavery and human trafficking, and requirements under the Act by developing a training plan to increase awareness and understanding amongst staff who have purchasing responsibilities.
We will look to work with our procurement function to develop our plans and controls in this area, including reviewing relevant clauses in existing supplier agreements, undertaking a risk assessment of the supply chains of our key suppliers and analysing the supplier due diligence process to increase our ability to identify potential risks.
This statement is made pursuant to Part 6, section 54 of the Act and constitutes ͵ÅÄ͵¿ú’s anti-slavery and human trafficking statement for the financial year ending 31 March 2024 and has been approved by the ͵ÅÄ͵¿ú Board of Trustees on behalf of ͵ÅÄ͵¿ú and its charitable and trading subsidiaries.
Paul Farmer
Chief Executive, ͵ÅÄ͵¿ú
3 June 2024