We supported the organisation to implement the Government’s strategic approach to tackling modern slavery, across five priority areas:

1. Contract Categorisation: we assessed the risks in the organisation’s procurement footprint by looking both at its existing approach to contract classification, based on financial value and business criticality, and the specific risks of modern slavery, based on industry type, global distribution of workforce and supply chain and nature of services.

2. Raising Awareness: we developed briefing packs for the executive team and other senior managers, securing their support to roll out training and awareness building across the organisation.

3. Supply Chain Mapping: we assessed 27 medium- and high-risk contracts and their supply chains using the Government Modern Slavery Assessment Tool (MSAT).  This identified that all suppliers had met their legal obligations and a number had gone beyond the minimum requirements to incorporate best practice risk management into their own operations and their procurement and contract management processes.

4. Risk Mitigation: because the supplier assessment identified no urgent issues for resolution, we were able to focus on supporting suppliers to introduce best practice, based on a thematic analysis of the greatest opportunity areas.  Across all suppliers, approach to KPIs and due diligence were identified as the greatest areas for improvement.  We supported contract managers to engage their suppliers in improvement planning and, where suppliers were already high performing, encouraged them to share best practice.

5. Procurement and Contract Management Processes: the review identified a number of opportunities to improve CPS’s own approach to tackling modern slavery throughout the procurement and contract management process.  These were developed into a phased roadmap, with a number of improvements being incorporated into a wider contract management development programme we subsequently worked with the client to deliver.