In accordance with the Modern Slavery Act 2015, Nottingham CityCare Partnership CIC makes the following statement regarding the steps it has taken during 2021/2022 to ensure that Modern Slavery has not taken place in any part of the organisation or across any part of its supply chain.
About Nottingham CityCare Partnership
We are a Social Enterprise and employ over 1200 staff with a budget of £63million.
We deliver a range of community healthcare services shaped to meet the needs of the communities we serve - from health visiting and education for young families to community nursing and home-based rehabilitation services for older people, and from the NHS Urgent Treatment Centre to specialist services.
We work in partnership with patients, staff, the private, public and voluntary sectors and the local community to build a healthier, more sustainable future for all.
As a Community Interest Company we are a not for profit organisation, reinvesting back into the organisation and into local community health projects. The communities we serve lie at the heart of CityCare and we are very much focused on building sustainable services that generate healthier, happier futures for local people.
For more information on our services visit www.nottinghamcitycare.nhs.uk
We are aware of the issues around modern slavery and human trafficking and continue to take appropriate steps to ensure that this could not happen in our supply chain or in any other part of our organisation.
We work proactively, and will continue to do so, with our suppliers and partners to help understand our collective responsibilities in relation to modern slavery requiring our supply chain to ensure they fulfilled their obligations as set out under the Modern Slavery Act.
CityCare has always been, and remains committed to continuously improving its practices to identify and eliminate any slavery and/or human trafficking across its business and supply chain, and to acting ethically and with integrity in all of its business relationships.
Throughout the year we have complied with relevant Procurement legislation and used a Pre-Qualification Questionnaire on procurements, which exceed policy thresholds, and bidders have always been required to confirm their compliance with the Modern Slavery Act.
CityCare purchases a significant number of products through NHS Supply Chain, who’s ‘Supplier Code of Conduct’ includes a provision around forced labour. Other contracts are governed by standard NHS Terms & Conditions.
The majority of our purchases utilised existing supply contracts or frameworks which have been negotiated under the NHS Standard Terms and Conditions of Contract, these all have the requirement for suppliers to have suitable anti-slavery and human trafficking policies and processes in place. Where a suitable framework exists we have used them in preference to tendering. These are run by NHS procurement hubs and contain the standard Terms & Conditions.
Our policies and procedures reflect our commitment to acting ethically in all our business relationships and to implementation of effective systems and controls to ensure slavery and human trafficking is not taking place.
We have a number of internal policies and procedures designed to ensure we are compliant with key national policies including Human Rights Act 1998, Equalities Act 2010 and the Modern Slavery Act 2015. This list is not exhaustive but includes:
Recruitment Policy – Our Recruitment Policy includes the requirement to conduct eligibility to work in the UK checks for all employees to safeguard them against human trafficking or individuals being forced to work against their will. These checks include checks of identity, eligibility to work, evidence of qualifications, health clearance, employment history and in areas of safeguarding risk a Disclosure Barring Service criminal records check.
Equal Opportunities Policy – We have a wide range of controls to protect staff from poor treatment and/or exploitation, which comply with legal and regulatory frameworks. These include terms and conditions of employment, access to training and development.
Safeguarding Policies – We adhere to the principles inherent within both our Adult’s and Children’s safeguarding policies. These are compliant with the Nottinghamshire multiagency arrangements and provide clear guidance to support staff in how to raise safeguarding concerns about how colleagues or people who receive our services are being treated.
Freedom to Speak up Policy – Our Freedom to Speak up (Whistleblowing) Policy ensures all our staff know how to raise concerns about how colleagues or people receiving our services are being treated, or about practices within our business or supply chain, without fear of reprisal.
Employment Policies – We offer a suite of employment policies that explain how we ensure comprehensive checks and balances are in place to negate the likelihood of individuals being employed by CityCare who have been trafficked or who are the victims of modern slavery.
Our safeguarding training includes role relevant modern slavery awareness and understanding to reflect the Department of Health and Social Care’s project around Provider Responses, Treatment and Care for Trafficked People (PROTECT).
Annually our Head of Procurement is trained to understand modern slavery through the Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply’s (CIPS) Ethical Procurement and Supply Training Course.
Over the course of the next financial year we will continue to enhance our policies and procedures to help us identify and mitigate any risks of modern slavery or human trafficking in relation to new and existing suppliers and recruitment.
Approval
The Board of Directors has approved this statement for publication on our website.
This statement is made pursuant to section 54(1) of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 and constitutes our slavery and human trafficking statement for the financial year ending 31 March 2022.
Michael Williams Louise Bainbridge
Chair Chief Executive
