Anti-slavery and human trafficking statement

Version 1.0

1. Introduction

1.1. Modern slavery is a crime and a violation of fundamental human rights. It takes various forms, such as slavery, servitude, forced and compulsory labour and human trafficking, all of which have in common the deprivation of a person’s liberty by another in order to exploit them for personal or commercial gain. We are committed to acting ethically and with integrity in all our business dealings and relationships and to implementing and enforcing effective and proportionate systems and controls to ensure modern slavery is not taking place anywhere in our own business or in any of our supply chains.

2. Digital Catapult Group

2.1. Digital Catapult is an independent non-profit research, technology and innovation organisation with a mission to accelerate the early adoption of advanced digital technologies to make UK businesses more competitive and productive and grow the country’s economy. Digital Catapult and its wholly owned trading subsidiary, Digital Catapult Services Limited, are both covered by this Statement.

3. Supply chains

3.1. Digital Catapult’s procurement activities are undertaken in the UK, and most suppliers are UK based, and nearly all suppliers are based in the UK, EU/EEA and US. We expect all suppliers to fully comply with the Modern Slavery Act 2015, including by making their own section 54 Statement where applicable.

4. Policies and processes

4.1. Digital Catapult’s Anti-Slavery & Human Trafficking Policy reflects our commitment to acting ethically and with integrity in all our business relationships and to implementing and enforcing effective systems and controls to ensure slavery and human trafficking is not taking place anywhere in our supply chains. We also have the following policies in place relevant to modern slavery, which we continuously review and update:

4.1.1. Procurement Policy;

4.1.2. Anti-Bribery & Corruption Policy; and

4.1.3. Whistleblowing Policy.

4.2. Digital Catapult’s procurement policies, processes and procedures take reasonable practicable steps to ensure that all suppliers confirm their compliance with the Modern Slavery Act 2015. Those who declare that they do not comply will be excluded or disqualified from the procurement process. In addition, Digital Catapult’s standard purchase terms requires a supplier to comply with the Modern Slavery Act 2015.

5. Due diligence and risk mitigation

5.1. Digital Catapult has in place processes and procedures to:

5.1.1. identify, assess and monitor potential risk areas in our supply chains;

5.1.2. mitigate the risk of slavery and human trafficking occurring in our supply chains; and

5.1.3. protect whistleblowers.

6. Training

6.1. To ensure a high level of understanding of the risks of modern slavery and human trafficking in our supply chains and our business, we provide training to our staff on induction, then regulatory thereafter.

7. Compliance statement

7.1. This statement is made voluntarily in alignment with section 54(1) of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 and constitutes our Group’s slavery and human trafficking statement for the financial year ending 31st March 2024. It was approved by the board on 1st May 2024.