Modern Slavery Statement 2023

Mousehole Wild Bird Hospital Cornwall wishes to ensure that we do not knowingly participate with any activity or organisation that involves any form of modern slavery.

Modern slavery is a term used to encapsulate various forms of servitude, forced or compulsory labour and human trafficking. Mousehole Wild Bird Hospital Cornwall and the Council of Trustees are committed to conducting our business responsibly and have a zero-tolerance approach to the issue across our business and supply chain.

It is estimated that around 40 million innocent men, women and children have been forced into various forms of modern slavery, around the world. The estimated number of victims of modern slavery in the UK has markedly increased in recent years to approximately 136,000 individuals (2018 Global Slavery Index).

This has been estimated to generate £116bn in profits each year, across the world. A third of this is generated in developed countries, including the UK.

We realise that modern slavery is a complex and growing global issue that affects millions of people around the world. Mousehole Wild Bird Hospital Cornwall is committed to ensuring its practices combat slavery, including forced, bonded or compulsory labour and human trafficking.

We strive to ensure that modern slavery is not taking place anywhere in our own business or in our supply chains.

This statement, pursuant to the UK Modern Slavery Act 2015 (the ‘Act’), is our first under the Act and relates to the financial year ending 31 December 2023. We fully support the aims of the Act and associated standards such as the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UN Guiding Principles) and are committed to tackling slavery and human trafficking wherever we can.

The Hospital is aware that by producing this statement on modern slavery, we are committing to ensuring our working practices and those of our partners minimise the impact our business activities to help combat modern slavery in the UK.

This first modern slavery statement is the first step in helping to set out the Hospital’s pathway to achieving this within all our services and activities.

We are ensuring we undertake to work to ensure the following policies are robust:

• Anti-corruption and Bribery Policy
• Code of Conduct
• Recruitment and selection
• Right to work Procedures
• Safeguarding Policy
• Whistleblowing Policy

In reviewing these polices and processes we were able to ensure that the processes relating to each of these polices, minimised the risk of the us breaching the Modern Slavery Act (2015) principles.

We are aware that there are areas we can further improve to reduce the risk of breaching the Acts principles. These include the following:

• Creating a supply chain mapping process, to identified risks within this and with
• our suppliers
• Update and improve our procurement process, to ensure that we are assessing the risk posed by procuring services and supplies,
• Due diligence audit to assess the risk associated with procurement and contracts for services and supplies
• In doing the above we will aim to create a risk assessment process to monitor and track all areas of risk and give them a risk rating that can be used as part of the procurement or contract decision making process,
• Improved contracting process, to build in modern slavery conditions and ensure the Hospital can terminate, or amend the contract if modern slavery breaches are identified that significantly increase our risk and exposure to being linked with modern slavery practices,
• To create and provide training programmes to raise awareness and requirements for all staff, ensuring the risk to the Hospital is minimised, in relation to modern slavery.

The term “modern slavery” refers to the offences of human trafficking, slavery, servitude, and forced or compulsory labour. This can then be considered under five headings:

• The sexual exploitation of adults
• The trafficking of adults into conditions of labour exploitation
• The trafficking of adults into conditions of criminal exploitation
• The trafficking of minors into conditions of sexual, criminal or labour exploitation
• Other forms of exploitation

Human trafficking involves the recruitment, transfer or obtaining of an individual through coercion, abduction, fraud or force, to exploit them. Although human trafficking often involves an international cross-border element, it is also possible to be a victim of modern slavery within our own country.

There are several broad categories of exploitation linked to human trafficking including sexual exploitation, forced labour, domestic servitude, organ harvesting, child related crimes, forced marriage and illegal adoption.

Modern slavery includes victims who have been brought from overseas and vulnerable people in the UK who are forces to work illegally against their will across many different sectors.

This statement sets out the Hospital’s actions to understand all potential modern slavery risks related to our business interests and to put in place steps that are aimed at ensuring that there is no slavery or human trafficking in any part of the charity or its supply chains.

This is designed to follow our annual report (and any other annual publications we need to make available on our website each year).

As a charity, we recognise that we have a responsibility to take a robust approach to slavery and human trafficking. We are committed to preventing slavery and human trafficking in relation to any of our own activities, and to ensure that our supply chains are free from slavery and human trafficking.