Modern slavery statement
Source: gov.uk (2025-05-19)

This statement for the financial year 2024 to 2025 outlines the steps we have taken to ensure that modern slavery is not taking place in our supply chain.

Foreword

James Lowth, Programme and Contract Assurance Director, March 2025:

The Mining Remediation Authority continues to be proud of supporting the UK government’s objectives to eradicate modern slavery and human trafficking in all its forms and we remain fully committed to maintaining the highest standards of due diligence in this respect.

We continue to work with potential and current suppliers to advise them on how they can best use the UK government standards to eradicate this abuse of human rights.

We invite you to help tackle modern slavery by sharing best practice and holding us to account where you think we could do better.

Background

Modern slavery and human trafficking are crimes and an abuse of human rights. It is imperative that across our organisation we embrace the opportunity to address the risks of modern slavery and human trafficking throughout our business activities.

This statement outlines the policies, processes, and actions that we have taken over the previous year to understand the potential impact to the Mining Remediation Authority from modern slavery and also future planned actions to further support our commitment to the eradication of modern slavery across our supply chains.

This statement relates to the financial year ending 31 March 2025 as well as a future look for the next financial year, and is in full accordance with the following legislation and guidance.
- Section 54 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 (https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2015/30/section/54)
- Procurement Policy Note 05/19: Tackling Modern Slavery in Government Supply Chains (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/procurement-policy-note-0519-tackling-modern-slavery-in-government-supply-chains)
- Transparency in supply chains: a practical guide (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/transparency-in-supply-chains-a-practical-guide)
Our commitments

We are committed to protecting and respecting human rights and have a zero tolerance approach towards modern slavery.

We are committed to ensuring that there is no modern slavery and human trafficking in our supply chains or any part of our business.

We do not enter into business with any organisation that knowingly supports, or is found to be involved in slavery, servitude or forced or compulsory labour.

As an equal opportunities employer, we’re also committed to creating and ensuring a non-discriminatory and respectful working environment for our people.

Our recruitment and people management processes are designed to ensure that all prospective employees are legally entitled to work in the UK.

We commit to adopting best practice approaches where possible to understand and eradicate modern slavery risk across our supply chains and foster positive working relationships with our suppliers to support this ambition.

In 2024, we continued to prioritise sustainable supply chain and business practices by maintaining a dedicated member of staff within our procurement team as a sustainable procurement business partner.

This individual continues to focus on the eradication of modern slavery, with due diligence and sustainability remaining central to their priorities and objectives.

Our business and supply chain

We are a non-departmental public body and partner organisation of the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ).

We manage the legacy of the former coal mining industry on behalf of the governments across England, Scotland and Wales.

We also use our skills to provide services to other government departments and agencies, local governments and commercial partners as we deliver our mission of making a better future for people and the environment in mining areas.

Our purpose:
- we keep people safe and provide peace of mind
- we protect and enhance the environment
- we use our information and expertise to help people make informed decisions
- create value and minimise cost to the taxpayer
We will continue to focus on our mission of making a better future for people and the environment in mining areas.

Our investment in coalfield areas and the use of local suppliers supports the levelling up agenda.

For further details on our business vision and ambitions, read our Business plan 2022 to 2025 (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coal-authority-business-plan-2022-to-2025).

We engage with a range of suppliers, from small and medium-sized enterprises to large corporations, the majority of which are UK based.

Our main suppliers provide technical and specialist construction related services, which support our core activity.

While we assess ourselves to have a generally low risk of modern slavery in our business activity, we acknowledge that electronics, information and communication technology hardware, construction and service staff are the highest risk areas for us and therefore focus on these appropriately.

In 2024 to 2025 we spent approximately £91 million buying goods and services from around 735 direct suppliers.

Our suppliers were sourced through pre-qualified UK Government Crown Commercial Services and other public sector frameworks, as well as through competitive tender on the open market.

Our sourcing activity was undertaken in compliance with the Public Contract Regulations 2015 (https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2015/102/contents).

Our policies in relation to modern slavery

We are committed to doing the right thing by ensuring we respect human rights and the environment.

We manage a governance framework for all material focus areas within our sustainable framework and follow best practice guidelines provided by the Government Commercial Function, on which our policy and processes are based.

The following policies are available to all staff through our intranet:
- code of conduct
- whistleblowing policy
- bullying and harassment policy
- diversity and inclusion policy
- recruitment and selection policy
Due diligence within our supply chain

We follow the Government Commercial Function guidance and build appropriate measures into our sourcing, supplier on-boarding and contract management processes, therefore minimising our exposure to risk.

Using supply chain due diligence principles enables us to make a judgement on transactions and the integrity of our supply chain.

We aim to build relationships with our suppliers to ensure they comply with our values and that they are aware of our commitment to protect human rights and the environment.

As part of our procurement process, suppliers are required to comply fully with the Modern Slavery Act 2015, wherever it applies, as well as appropriate contractual obligations with contract termination as a potential sanction for non-compliance.

Any contractor who is identified as a cause for concern regarding modern slavery be referred for investigation via the National Crime Agency’s national referral mechanism.

Where possible, further modern slavery mitigation measures are embedded into medium and high-risk contracts through the procurement exercise and measures such as Modern Slavery Assessment Tool (MSAT) requirements or assessing modern slavery practice through social value criteria theme 4.

Risk assessment and management

Following the guidance provided by the Government Commercial Function, in 2024 we undertook a full risk assessment review of our tier 1 supply base and categorised our contracts as low, medium or high risk by assessing these against key modern slavery risk indicators.

We subsequently engaged with each of our medium and high category risk suppliers to further understand their modern slavery risk across their supply chains through the use of the MSAT in which those suppliers can share their score and improvement activity with us.

Suppliers are continuing to review and update their modern slavery due diligence in line with their improvement activity commitments made to us as well as reviewing their MSAT submissions annually.

We will continue to work closely with suppliers to ensure all of those modern slavery process and policy improvement activities identified, are progressed and remedied throughout 2025 and 2026.

The MSAT campaign will be reviewed and updated annually across our supply chain.

If a supplier fails to adequately remediate the issue, the relationship would be re-evaluated and, if necessary, terminated.

Key performance indicators

Where potential modern slavery impacts are identified within a contract requirement, we will work with our suppliers to develop appropriate key performance indicators (KPIs) to monitor and manage performance in regards to these risks.

Where the MSAT requirement has been embedded through procurement exercises, the improvement activity generated will be transferred into KPIs through the contract life as well as the requirement to update their MSAT response annually.

Training on modern slavery and trafficking

All procurement team members are also required to undertake mandatory modern slavery awareness training.

We will ensure our staff involved in procurement activity are aware of and follow modern slavery procurement guidance on GOV.UK.

In 2025 and 2026 all procurement business partners are mandated to complete the Government Commercial College’s Tackling Modern Slavery in Supply Chains training modules as well as the Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supplies (CIPS) online course on Ethical Procurement and Supply.

In 2025 and 2026 we aim to include the wider business in the requirement to complete modern slavery training on an annual basis.