Modern Slavery Transparency Statement

This statement is designed to satisfy the requirements of Section 54 Part 6 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 (“the Act”), in conjunction with:   

• The UK Parliament Modern Slavery Statement 2023/2024  
• Cabinet Office National Procurement Policy Statement (February 2025)  
• Cabinet Office Procurement Policy Note 009 (updated February 2025)   

by informing our staff, suppliers to the British Tourist Authority (BTA) (t/a VisitBritain/VisitEngland) and the public about VisitBritain/VisitEngland and its policies with respect to modern slavery, human trafficking, forced labour and labour rights violations in its supply chains. It sets out the steps that the BTA has taken during the financial year ending 31 March 2026 to ensure, as far as possible, that modern slavery is not taking place within its organisation or its supply chain.  

Modern slavery 

Modern Slavery Act 2015 is an act to make provision about slavery, servitude and forced or compulsory labour and about human trafficking, including provision for the protection of victims. 

Modern slavery is a serious and often hidden crime in which people are exploited for criminal gain. The impact can be devastating for the victims. In 2022, the International Labour Organization (ILO) estimated that 27.6 million men, women and children are in forced labour. In the UK, the issue continues to grow, with 23,411 potential victims referred to the National Referral Mechanism (NRM) in 2025. However, the true scale is likely much higher due to underreporting and the hidden nature of the crime. 

The Modern Slavery Act 2015 put forward new measures that are directly related to businesses and their supply chains. Section 54 of the Act and Home Office guidance requires companies with an annual turnover above £36 million, and carrying out a business, or part of a business, in the UK, to publish a Modern Slavery Statement each year. 

Organisation structure and supply chains 

About the British Tourist Authority (BTA) t/a VisitBritain/VisitEngland 

As the national tourism agency – a non-departmental public body funded by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS), our mission is to raise Britain’s profile internationally, grow the volume and value of tourism exports, and support the development of England’s visitor economy. We work in partnership with organisations of all sizes and across sectors. 

We are an international organisation active in multiple overseas markets with a diverse and substantial supply chain, with procurement carried out both centrally in the UK and within local markets. During the 2025/26 financial year, BTA entered into contracts with a total value of approximately £17.9 million. Of this, approximately £16.1 million (90%) was with UK based suppliers, while £1.7 million (10%) was with overseas suppliers. 

Overall, BTA holds contracts with a total value of approximately £104 million. Of this, approximately £98.2million (94%) was with UK based suppliers, while £5.8 million (6%) was with overseas suppliers. 

Further information about VisitBritain/VisitEngland and our business is set out in the annual report and accounts.  

Policies in relation to slavery and human trafficking

As an equal opportunities’ employer, we’re committed to creating and ensuring a non-discriminatory and respectful working environment for our staff. We want all our staff to feel confident that they can expose wrongdoing without any risk to themselves.  

Our recruitment and people management processes are designed to ensure that all prospective employees are legally entitled to work in the UK and to safeguard employees from any abuse or coercion.  

The following policies are available to all staff through our intranet:  

• Code of conduct  
• Whistleblowing policy  
• Anti-harassment and bullying policy  
• Equality, Diversity and Inclusion policy

Current procurement policy and processes  

Our corporate procurement policy is based on the UK government public sector procurement legislation. It provides standards and obligations when procuring goods, works and services on behalf of VisitBritain/VisitEngland from external third-party suppliers. This includes planning, sourcing, supplier selection and contracting.  

The policy’s objectives include ensuring all potential and incumbent suppliers are dealt with transparently, fairly and proportionally and that we always uphold the principles of sustainable procurement. Our procedures comply with UK law and address environmental management, health and safety, equality legislation and social value. We provide guidance and tools to ensure that the policy is followed during the procurement process.  

In accordance with our procurement policy, we are required by DCMS to procure via Government Commercial Agency (GCA) or other public sectors framework agreements where applicable.  

We require our suppliers to maintain standards while supplying to us and we will act to terminate contracts where we become aware of risks highlighted within the submitted Modern Slavery Assessment Tool (MSAT) report. 

Our actions to prevent Modern Slavery  

As part of VisitBritain/VisitEngland’s continued action to prevent modern slavery it undertakes the following:  

• Effective Human Resources policies and procedures which ensure all members of staff have the right to work;  
• All our Procurement & Contract Management staff are required to complete the Tackling Modern Slavery in Supply Chain course facilitated by the Government Commercial College. 

Due diligence processes  

Within published invitation to tenders, we ask the tenderer to self-cleanse by ensuring that the tenderer shall, and procure that each of its Sub-Contractors shall, comply with the Modern Slavery Act 2015. In submitting a Tender response, the Tenderer shall: take the necessary steps to ensure that that slavery and trafficking is not taking place in any of its supply chains or in any part of the Tenderer’s business;  implement due diligence procedures for its Sub-Contractors and other participants in its supply chains, to ensure that there is no slavery or trafficking in its supply chains; respond promptly to an invitation to complete the MSAT and shall ensure that its responses to the MSAT are complete and accurate. 

The Tenderer shall notify BTA as soon as it becomes aware of any actual or suspected slavery or trafficking in a supply chain, or in the Tenderer’s organisation which relates to the provision of the goods, works or services as required by the BTA. 

Risk assessment and management 

A modern slavery risk assessment is a systematic analysis of the likelihood that goods or services an organisation provides, makes or purchases has been made fully or in part by slave labour. The assessment should cover relevant workers internal and external to the organisation, for example subcontractors producing constituent parts, as well as workers in support functions such as cleaning and catering. The risk assessment informs broader due diligence steps organisations take and this section is specifically focused on identifying and managing the most salient modern slavery risks to workers (i.e. the highest likelihood and severity). The risk assessment should focus on risk to workers, not risks to the organisation such as reputation. 

The great majority of the goods and services we purchase are from within the UK, US and EU, and we therefore believe that the risk of modern slavery in our supply chain is relatively low.  

All contracted suppliers with a compliant award will be requested to complete the ‘Modern Slavery Assessment Tool’ (MSAT) to evaluate and improve organisational responses to modern slavery risks. BTA will begin implementing the MSAT during 2026/27, and will report on it on the next statement published in the next financial year. 

This initiative enables us to: 

• Benchmark the suppliers performance rating and measure improvement 
• Gain deeper insight into supplier practices and supply chain transparency 
• Identify areas requiring further scrutiny or improvement 
• Promote continuous improvement and accountability in ethical sourcing 

This proactive approach reinforces our zero-tolerance stance on modern slavery and supports our goal of maintaining a responsible and transparent supply chain. 

Government Commercial Agency (GCA) frameworks 

A large portion of BTA commercial activities involve GCA frameworks which are awarded and managed centrally within the GCA.  In 2019, GCA (formally known as CCS until 1 April 2026) carried out a detailed risk assessment of all its commercial agreements. The risk assessment categorised 26 commercial frameworks as having a high or medium risk of modern slavery. BTA has used some of these frameworks which have now been superseded.  

Key performance indicators to measure effectiveness of steps being taken 

BTA contract management set goals to ensure the organisation makes year-on-year progress in identifying, preventing and responding to modern slavery. Contract management provide evidence of goals which are tailored to sector specific risks. We will provide outcome focussed Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to measure progress towards goals. We aim to disclose and provide supporting evidence for the outcomes of the organisation’s approach. We intended to utilise findings by providing evidence from monitoring and evaluation have fed into and influenced business practice.  

The KPI steps will enhance supplier monitoring and contract management practices. This will improve transparency, strengthen compliance, and increase our ability to identify and mitigate modern slavery risks across the supply chain. 

The MSAT provides BTA and the supplier in question a maximum of 35 possible recommendations that can be generated depending on answers as guidance on improvements. The MSAT will also highlight a maximum of 22 possible Risk Flags which can be raised as a result of supplier responses throughout the assessment.  

MSAT outcome scores are RAG based dependant on percentage score achieved: 

70-100% = GREEN, 40-69% = ORANGE, 20-39% = YELLOW, 0-19% = RED 

Red and orange band performance score will require a follow up meeting within 8 weeks of the supplier completing the MSAT. This will be the first of two follow up calls to happen within a year of submission. Yellow and green band performance score will require one follow up call within a year of submission. 

When a risk has been identified, an action plan setting out the behaviours, standards and actions required of both parties is required to address the issues. It should clearly set out what action will be taken, when and by whom, including deadline dates, milestones and targets, and what preventative measures the supplier will put in place to stop recurrence. 

Training on modern slavery and trafficking  

All members of the Procurement Team and other staff, where appropriate, will be required to complete the Government Commercial College’s “Tackling modern slavery in supply chains: PPE case study “. 

We believe awareness of modern slavery and human trafficking is important to make this statement effective. To achieve this, we will therefore also communicate this statement to all our staff. Staff who have any concerns may raise these through our whistleblowing policy, or report suspicions through our counter fraud policy. Our whistleblowing and counter-fraud contacts are monitored and reported internally to our General Counsel. 

This statement was approved by the BTA Board and signed on its behalf by the Chief Executive Officer of VisitBritain/VisitEngland:

Patricia Yates
Chief Executive Officer, VisitBritain/VisitEngland

October 2023