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You can find all our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Annual Reports on our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion page.

This statement is made pursuant to section.54 of the Modern Slavery Act (2015) and sets out the steps that the East Midlands Ambulance Service (EMAS) has taken, and will continue to take, to improve our practice in combatting slavery and human trafficking and to raise awareness, disrupt and respond to Modern Slavery.

Modern slavery is the recruitment, movement, harbouring or receiving of children, women or men through the use of force, coercion, abuse of vulnerability, deception or other means for the purpose of exploitation. Individuals may be trafficked into, out of or within the UK, and they may be trafficked for a number of reasons including sexual exploitation, forced labour, domestic servitude and organ harvesting. Traffickers and slavers use whatever means they have at their disposal to coerce, deceive and force individuals into a life of abuse, servitude and inhumane treatment.

EMAS has a zero-tolerance approach to any form of abuse and thus modern slavery is incorporated within the safeguarding work stream.

We are committed to acting ethically and with integrity and transparency in all business dealings and to putting effective systems and controls in place to safeguard against any form of modern slavery.

Through the implementation of robust Human Resources recruitment policies and procedures EMAS ensures that comprehensive checks and balances are in place to negate the likelihood of individuals being employed by EMAS who have been trafficked or who are the victims of Modern Slavery. These include references, health checks, Disclosure and Barring Service checks, immigration and identity checks. Our Freedom To Speak Up (Raising Concerns) Policy gives a platform for our employees to raise concerns about poor working practices.

By adopting the national pay, terms and conditions of service, the Trust has the assurance that all staff will be treated fairly and will comply with the latest legislation. This includes the assurance that staff received the National Living Wage.

The Trust has various policies and procedures in place designed to provide guidance and advice to staff, managers and volunteers. An Equality Impact Assessment is completed on each policy to assess the impact from an equality and diversity perspective and to ensure EMAS is conducting business in an ethical and transparent manner. These policies include:

  • Safeguarding Children and Young People Policy
  • Safeguarding Adults Policy
  • Freedom To Speak Up (Raising Concerns) Policy
  • Quality Impact Assessment Policy
  • Equal Opportunity Policy
  • Recruitment and Selection Policy

EMAS is responsible for commissioning third party providers to ensure that they can meet the service requirements of the public. Our procurement approach follows the Crown Commercial Service standard and includes a mandatory exclusion question regarding the Modern Slavery Act 2015. When procuring goods and services, we additionally apply NHS Terms and Conditions (for non-clinical procurement) and the NHS Standard Contract (for clinical procurement). Both require suppliers to comply with relevant legislation.

EMAS is responsible for monitoring the quality of services and care provided to patients and will therefore ensure that all commissioned service providers are aware of their responsibilities and have effective systems in place to demonstrate that they too have a zero tolerance to human trafficking and are compliant with the Modern Slavery Act (2015)

The supplier’s contract will include:

  • Warranties whereby the supplier gives an assurance or promise to comply with the Act, a breach of which may give rise to a claim for damages and/or termination of the contract;
  • Indemnities – an undertaking by the supplier to meet any costs incurred by the NHS organisation as a result of the supplier’s non-compliance with the Act;
  • Rights to request and audit information in respect of the supplier’s on-going compliance with the Act;
  • Rights to terminate if the supplier commits an offence under the Act. 

EMAS recognises that the Modern Slavery Act 2015 highlights the importance of recognising and responding to victims of Modern Slavery. EMAS regularly conducts training for all frontline responders to ensure they recognise and understand the signs of modern slavery and know what to do if they suspect that it is taking place. This is incorporated within the mandatory safeguarding training strategy.

The Trust Board has considered this statement and will continue to support the requirements of the legislation.

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