Modern slavery statement

The University of Central Lancashire is a leading modern multi-campus university, in Lancashire, Cumbria and Cyprus. We are one of the UK’s largest universities with a student and staff community approaching 38,000 individuals. Internationally the University has academic partners in all regions of the globe.

The University’s core business is teaching and research - it has a wide range of subject areas and comprises Faculties and Academic Schools supported by Professional Services teams. We employ around 3000 full and part time staff covering both the Academic and Professional Services areas.

Our newly-formed subsidiary, UCLan Professional Services Limited is a wholly owned subsidiary of the University and is subject in any procurement dealings to the same vetting processes in place for the University, as set out below.

The University has an annual turnover in the region of £275 million of which c£85 million is spent on goods and services to support the running of the University with a further £25 million on average on its capital program. 

The University is supported by Procurement & Commercial Services in the delivery of significant procurements and the oversight of contracts management.

The University procures a significant range of goods, works and services across key categories of spend including but not limited to Soft Facilities Management, Construction & Hard Facilities Management, Information, Communications & Technology, Business & Administration Services and Medical Supplies.

The University expects its suppliers and other business partners to have the same high ethical standards in promoting safe and fair working conditions and promoting ethical sourcing within their supply chains. Whilst the University believes the risk of modern slavery in our supply chains is low, our policies and practices are designed to identify and mitigate any risk.

The University mitigates the risk of modern slavery occurring in its workforce by ensuring that directly employed staff are recruited by following robust HR recruitment policies. There is a Whistleblowing Policy in place for members of staff to raise any concerns about wrongdoing by the University.

Staff employed on a temporary basis via agencies are only recruited through established sources who can provide assurance, via the procurement procedures referred to below, that they comply fully with the requirements of legislation relating to the rights and welfare of their candidates and employees.

The Procurement team is responsible for managing the University's supply chains.

Procurement spend covers a vast range of goods, services and works and therefore the risk of modern slavery and trafficking is something that is very prominent. The University’s assessment at this time is that the principal areas of the University’s procurement which carry increased risks of modern slavery and human trafficking are:

• Office supplies
• Laboratory consumables
• Garment manufacturing
• Estates services
• Construction
• Cleaning services
• Security services

It is vital therefore that the University works closely with suppliers in the above categories to understand and assess where items originate from and what conditions the supply chain responsible for these items, are working in. The University, and in particular Procurement, is committed to working with suppliers to further develop this knowledge and understanding and assist in improving conditions wherever possible. Early engagement with suppliers and supply chains on any project allows the Procurement team to understand what risks there may be in producing/delivering the requirement and, if necessary, mitigate and eliminate these risks through the competitive tender process.

As part of the University’s initiative to identify, manage and mitigate risk we have in place, along with consortia partners whose purchasing frameworks we use, processes and systems to:

• Identify and assess potential risk areas in our supply chains
• Mitigate the risk of slavery and human trafficking occurring in our supply chains
• Protect whistle-blowers

These measures are embedded into the University’s procedures and we are also aware that similar measures have been taken with other public sector frameworks and public sector contracts that we are able to access in order to supply the University.

The University is a member of the North West Universities Purchasing Consortium (NWUPC), which operates under the banner of UK Universities Procurement Consortia (UKUPC), a body dedicated to improving both the quality of procurement and the level of collaborative procurement across the HE sector. Together these consortia have published a shared Sustainability Policy to which all members, including the University, are committed. This policy sets out the steps that must be taken in major contract procurement processes that are conducted for consortium members, to help to ensure that slavery and human trafficking are not occurring in the supply chain. Currently the University spends over 40% (monetary value) through consortia frameworks.

UCLan is signed up to the NETpositive Futures Supplier Engagement Tool (HE), and we are committed to bettering our understanding of our supply chains.

The NETpositive Supplier Engagement (HE) Tool provides access to a single mechanism to engage our supply chain with issues of modern slavery and human trafficking. This tool was developed by the North West Universities Purchasing Consortium (NWUPC), the University Caterers Organisation (TUCO) and the North Eastern University Purchasing Consortia (NEUPC).

UCLan can provide the Engagement Tool (HE) to our suppliers which enables them to generate their own, bespoke Action Plans. It provides us with the facility to interrogate data that is generated to understand not only how our suppliers are making progress in relation to Modern Slavery (and sustainability) but also to better understand their needs. The tool does the following:

1. Provides a single mechanism to engage contracted and non-contracted suppliers with the issues of Modern Slavery
2. Collects data on which of our suppliers are aware of and engaged with aspects of modern slavery (as well as those who are not)
3. Provides a mechanism for us to offer support, guidance or training to our supply base and to share best practice between them
4. Enables us to track the actions being taken and progress being made by our supply chain in addressing aspects of modern slavery
5. Provides us with access to this information in real time
6. Allows us to build modern slavery into our contract management processes based on the action plans developed by your suppliers

UCLan continue to undertake methods to better encourage its suppliers to sign up to the tool and use it effectively. We will also start to conduct six monthly checks on any the uptake of the tool by our suppliers and ‘spot review’ some of their Action Plans to better understand how our supply chain are addressing Sustainability including tackling Modern Slavery.

The intention is for UCLan to actively encourage its suppliers to use Netpositive in our joint efforts around Modern Slavery, rather than simply asking them how they approach it.

The University has a “Responsible Procurement” Policy that will ensure that decisions taken by the University on the procurement of goods, works or services are undertaken in line with our commitments under the following themes: 

• Delivering social value
• Improving environmental sustainability
• Promoting ethical sourcing practices
• Encouraging equality, diversity and inclusion

The University is committed to ensuring that there is no modern slavery or human trafficking in our supply chains or in any part of our business. To ensure that this commitment is met in a consistent and appropriate manner the University ensures that modern slavery is addressed within our trading terms.

Our Human Resource Policies ensure that workers are appointed legally, and rigorous checks are carried out on all new appointments both permanent and fixed term including student workers and international researchers. Policies are fully supported by Guidance for Managers. The appointment of temporary or interim resources are approved by the Resources Committee and monitored by both Human Resources and Procurement.

The University has appointed a Director of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion, who will be supported by the Human Resources team in delivering the agenda from the staff perspective. The People Team team is responsible for supporting equality and diversity policy development and implementation, and seeks to engage all University staff in promoting a positive and fully inclusive work environment The University gives legal consideration to the requirements of the Equality Act 2010 through an Equality Impact Assessment process by reviewing all the equality impact assessment carried out on the University policies, functions and practices.

The University is committed in its pursuit of academic excellence to equality of opportunity and to a pro-active and inclusive approach to equality, which supports and encourages all under-represented groups, promotes an inclusive culture, and values diversity.

The University spends circa £110 million on goods, services and works per annum including major capital programmes and therefore has a significant opportunity to leverage its supply chain to deliver additional benefits to the University, students, local residents, businesses and communities.

By paying careful attention to how goods, services or works will be delivered, who may be delivering them and what else the supplier can do to deliver added value the University aims to deliver social value, improve environmental sustainability, promote ethical sourcing practices and encourage equality, diversity and inclusion.

All procurements conducted by the University and by those contracted by the University to act on their behalf will do so following the Government Buying Standards ‘Mandatory’ criteria. 

To ensure a high level of understanding of the risks of modern slavery in our supply chains, awareness training is completed by Procurement staff.

Material is additionally available on the Intranet to raise awareness of and provide guidance on indicators relating to Modern Slavery. 

The University is committed to acquiring goods, services or works without causing harm to others. The University supports the Base Code of the Ethical Trading Initiative. The Base Code is founded on the conventions of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) and is an internationally recognised code of labour practice. 

The standards are: 

• Employment is freely chosen
• Freedom of association and the right to collective bargaining are respected
• Working conditions are safe and hygienic
• Child labour shall not be used
• Living wages are paid

The University has zero tolerance to slavery and human trafficking. Any supplier or potential supplier who does not adhere to our values will be suspended or removed from the University's supplier list and will not be considered for future supply to the University unless they are able to demonstrate full adherence with the requirements of the Modern Slavery Act 2015. Contract clauses around Modern Slavery have been introduced to all UCLan contracts to ensure that should a supplier breach such conditions the University has the right to terminate the contract.

Due to the ever-changing nature of modern slavery and trafficking the University expresses its commitment to work towards greater transparency on the University's supply chains. This will involve increased collaboration, increased supplier engagement, and increased awareness regarding the risks of modern slavery and trafficking.