modern day slavery

Updated Company Statement, December 2023

This statement is published in accordance with the UK Modern Slavery Act of 2015. It sets out the steps taken by the owners and directors of Solent Group Holdings Ltd, (“the company”) and all its subsidiary companies up to December 2023 and its plans for 2024.

“The company” remain fully committed to;

• Understanding and preventing modern day slavery and human trafficking in its business and across its supply chain.
• Working to ensure there is no modern-day slavery within their business or supply chain globally.

“The company” continue to take significant steps towards achieving the above and have a long history and commitment to ethical trading, by -

• Setting out minimum ethical trading requirements to all first-tier manufacturing sites which includes the forbidden use of any forced, child or bonded labour
• Employing Lead Auditor trained Senior Auditors to carry out ethical trading audits where none already exist for first-tier manufacturing sites
• Employing trained technical and commercial teams who carry out regular visits to first tier manufacturing sites between audits
• Participating in independent ethical trading audits by third party audit companies for the majority of first-tier manufacturing sites
• “The Company” will maintain AB Membership of Sedex, publishing all ethical audit outcomes and completion of self-assessment questionnaires which allows visibility of ethical audits for all first-tier manufacturing sites. Results are also made visible to all our customers.
• Ensuring timely close off on Sedex of non-conformances identified during ethical audits
• Requesting all first-tier manufacturing sites carry out audits and/or issue self-assessment questionnaires to their suppliers, (second tier suppliers to “the company”)
• “The company” have a Modern-Day Slavery Working Group with accountability for further identifying & managing the risk of slavery in “the company” & its supply chain

Over the last 3 years, “the company” have undertaken, either directly or via first-tier manufacturing partners, over 50 independent ethical audits. No incidence or suspect incidence of forced, child or bonded labour has been recorded. “The company” ethical policies and processes have also been subject to external audit and scrutiny by premium UK and South African retailers.

Over the last twelve months “the company” modern day slavery working group have started to use a human rights decision tree process to plan a programme of audits with its manufacturing sites. This ensures more frequent audits of higher risk operations. “The company” have also completed the process of renewing all manufacturing contracts ensuring ethical trading requirements are now built in.

Following on from our plans in 2023 “the company” will continue to carry out a thorough human rights due diligence risk assessment – covering all manufacturing sites across all geographical locations and industry types. “The company” will then assess and prioritise its human rights risks and formulate a time bound plan of action on where it can further mitigate or reduce those risks. In addition “the company” will be continuing with anonymous worker’s voice surveys, the results of which will be analysed independently and presented back to “the company” to identify any further human rights risks across its UK manufacturing base. Following review this survey may be rolled out to “the company’s” global manufacturing partners during 2024.

Ashley Symonds

Chief Executive Officer