Give us transparency in our goods and services supply chains
I had a sense of history yesterday afternoon as I walked through the gate at Lambeth Palace the home of the Archbishop of Canterbury and the headquarters of the Church of England. Its a really old building but very impressive building yet it looks a little down on heal from the outside, which sends out a message, were not too rich, we're living here because of past generation. I was on a mission to see how we can all find ways to work closer together in the areas of overseas development and also how we can develop partnerships. I attended the Eve of Bill Reception last night. This is the Bill being put forward by our local Bo'ness MP to seek to eradicate human trafficking. The Bill is called "Transparency in UK Company Supply Chains( Eradication of Slavery )Bill. This Bill was introduced to Parliament earlier this year with cross party support. It aims to tackle and seek to eradicate slavery by making UK Companies carry out an audit of their supply chains. This includes the service industry. It's not just that we know of sweat shops in India where children are enslaved, we also read yesterday in the news that just under 1000 people were discovered in the UK to be in slavery. It is thought this is just the tip of the iceberg. There is so much happening underground especially at night when fewer people are around. Office cleaning is one example where illegal immigrants can find work and before long discover they are enslaved. At the pre Bill meeting it was great to see so many Christian groups supporting this Bill. The Bill seeks to follow the example of similar legislation that was passed in California last year. Already some British firms who trade in this part of the USA are having to audit their supply chains. It would be wonderful if this Bill could get past the second reading stage. Please pray today that time will be found in the Commons for this very important Bill to pass into the next area of procedures in order to become law. There are two Bills coming up before this Bill. There is a time schedule set aside to hear these Bills. the Eradication of Slavery is the third Bill. This means it has a limited chance of proceeding unless the otter two Bills get passed quickly. the danger is that those speaking in favour of the previous Bills speak longer than is necessary. Please pray that God will intervene to help our MPs speak briefly to day. I'm not praying for a Daniel in the lion's den syndrome, just 'a yeah being a yeah' and a 'nay being a nay'. I'm off to Premier Radio now to talk about the place of media in society and how Christians can contribute to creating an engaging media in throughout the UK.
