Modern Slavery Statement

Introduction

Diabetes UK is committed to continuously improving our processes to combat slavery and human trafficking in our business and supply chain. 

This statement is made pursuant to section 54 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015. It constitutes our slavery and human trafficking statement for the financial year ended 31 December 2017. It covers Diabetes UK activities and those of our wholly-owned subsidiary: Diabetes Services Ltd. 

Our organisation 

Diabetes UK continues to be a leading force in raising awareness of and tackling the growing diabetes crisis. We rely on the generosity of the public to fund our activities through donations, buying goods online and taking part in a wide range of fundraising events. 

We have around 400 staff and around 7,000 volunteers all of whom are based in the UK. Our staff are largely directly employed and are not in any category which is generally seen to be vulnerable to modern slavery in this country, so our focus is to ensure there are policies and procedures in place for our contractors and suppliers. 

Our business and supply chain 

Diabetes UK uses a wide range of suppliers who support our operations, provide services at events and supply goods for sale. We have reviewed our business operations and relationships to identify the sectors that are high risk and are implementing proportionate control procedures across our portfolio of activity. 

Looking ahead 

• We will ensure we review the risk profile on an annual basis. 

Due diligence 

Diabetes UK is in the process of undertaking additional due diligence on existing suppliers in high-risk areas and developing additional procedures for assessing and auditing suppliers as part of our procurement process, to ensure we only select suppliers who comply with our high standards and policies. 

Looking ahead 

• We will complete the existing due diligence review on existing suppliers.
• We will require suppliers to comply with our revised procurement process. Should a supplier fail or refuse to provide the information required, as part of the ongoing due diligence review or future procurement, this may result in Diabetes UK not initiating a relationship with them or terminating any current relationship. 

Policies 

Diabetes UK has the following policies which are being updated with the aim of minimising the risk of modern slavery in our supply chain: 

• Procurement, and 
• Whistleblowing Policy 

Looking ahead 

• Our policies will be reviewed and updated when legislation/regulation is updated, or 
• At least every three years. 

Training 

Initial guidance has been provided to the Executive team to facilitate the identification of risk areas and training has been undertaken by those responsible for setting out the guidelines and policy relating to procurement. 

Looking ahead 

• It is our intention that training in this area will be provided to all budget holders and individuals who have direct responsibility for supplier management. 
• We will provide a guidance note on our internal communications platform. 

Approved

This statement has been approved by the Trustees of Diabetes UK and the Directors of Diabetes UK Services Limited and is signed by Chris Askew, Chief Executive.

Introduction

Diabetes UK is committed to continuously improving our processes to combat slavery and human trafficking in our business and supply chain. 

This statement is made pursuant to section 54 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015. It constitutes our slavery and human trafficking statement for the financial year ended 31 December 2020. It covers Diabetes UK activities and those of our wholly-owned subsidiary: Diabetes Services Ltd. 

Our organisation & structure

Diabetes UK is the leading charity for people living with diabetes in the UK. Our vision is a world where diabetes can do no harm. We operate only within the UK and rely on the generosity of the public to fund our activities through donations, buying goods from our online shop and taking part in a wide range of fundraising events. 

We have a head office in London and a number of regional offices, with around 400 staff and 3,200 volunteers.

Our business and supply chains

The activities we undertake to achieve the change we want to see include:

• Grant funding diabetes research
• Raising awareness of diabetes and its seriousness
• Campaigning and lobbying
• Working with healthcare professionals
• Raising funds to support our charitable goals

We have reviewed the modern slavery risk of the work we do, and because the majority of our work is done by our employees our focus is on our suppliers.

A large proportion of our suppliers provide services but we do buy some goods – for example items to sell in our online shop, information materials like leaflets and resources for events like t-shirts. Therefore, while our operations would generally be considered relatively low risk for modern slavery, we do interact with some industries and suppliers which are higher risk. These would typically be those where we buy goods manufactured overseas, and items from small producers.

We have invested in technology over the course of 2020 which will mean that our employees with responsibility for procurement have more capacity to support colleagues with modern slavery checks and other processes so that we can continue to improve our practice in this area. 

Due diligence

We consider the risk of individual suppliers as we appoint them, and continue to undertake particular due diligence on suppliers at increased risk of modern slavery, as well as developing our procurement process, to ensure we only select suppliers who comply with our policies and high standards.

We also have due diligence procedures around potential and current partners including using third party tools, and are continuing to develop these to ensure that they mitigate emerging risks.

Our policies, guidance and training

We have the following policies which help us to minimise the risk of modern slavery in our supply chain:

• Procurement & Contracts Policy
• Whistleblowing Policy

Our refreshed Procurement & Contracts Policy (launched in 2019) requires additional steps where we interact with industries or commodities which are higher risk for modern slavery. The Legal and Finance teams jointly run regular training on this policy and its application, during which real life case studies of modern slavery are highlighted to colleagues to emphasise the relevance and importance of following best practice.

As referenced above, we have invested in technology over the course of 2020 in the form of a new finance system which will enable us both to better monitor compliance with our Procurement & Contracts Policy, and to free up capacity to offer more support to colleagues with procurement processes including the consideration of modern slavery risks. We feel that this is a positive step on our journey of continuous improvement in this area.

The policies above will be updated every 3 years or as regulation or legislation changes.

Approved

(This statement has been approved by the Trustees of Diabetes UK and the Directors of Diabetes UK Services Limited and is signed by Chris Askew, Chief Executive.) Subject to Board decision.

Chris Askew, Chief Executive.

25 March 2021

Introduction

Diabetes UK has a zero-tolerance approach to modern slavery, and is committed to acting ethically in all operations. We continuously improve our processes to combat slavery and human trafficking in our business and supply chain and hold our suppliers and partners to high standards in doing the same. 

This statement is made pursuant to section 54 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 and covers Diabetes UK activities and those of our wholly-owned subsidiary Diabetes UK Services Ltd.  

Our organisation & structure

Diabetes UK is the leading charity for people living with diabetes in the UK. Our vision is a world where diabetes can do no harm. We operate only within the UK and rely on the generosity of the public to fund our activities through donations, buying goods from our online shop and taking part in a wide range of fundraising events. 

We have a head office in London and a number of regional offices, with around 420 staff and 3,200 volunteers.

Our business and supply chains

The activities we undertake to achieve the change we want to see include:

• Grant funding diabetes research
• Raising awareness of diabetes and its seriousness
• Campaigning and lobbying
• Working with healthcare professionals
• Raising funds to support our charitable goals

We have reviewed the modern slavery risk of the work we do and have determined that the majority of our risk relates to our suppliers. While a large proportion of our suppliers provide services, we do also buy some goods – for example items to sell in our online shop, information materials like leaflets and resources for events like t-shirts. Therefore, while our operations would generally be considered relatively low risk for modern slavery, we do interact with some industries and suppliers which are higher risk – for example when purchasing goods for our shop, or working with services companies who outsource a significant portion of their work.

Due diligence

We consider the risk of individual suppliers as we appoint them and take additional due diligence activity for suppliers at increased risk of modern slavery. We develop our procurement processes on an ongoing basis to ensure we only select suppliers who comply with our policies and high standards.

We also have due diligence procedures around potential and current partners including using third party tools, and continuously develop these to ensure that they mitigate emerging risks.

Our policies, guidance and training

We have the following policies which help us to minimise the risk of modern slavery in our supply chain:

• Procurement & Contracts Policy
• Whistleblowing Policy

Our Procurement & Contracts Policy will be updated for latest best practice in 2022, and already requires additional steps to be taken where we interact with industries or commodities which are higher risk for modern slavery. The Legal and Finance teams jointly run regular training on this policy and its application, during which real life case studies of modern slavery are highlighted to colleagues to emphasise the relevance and importance of following best practice. In addition, in 2022 we are introducing mandatory risk training for managers which will highlight modern slavery risks and give colleagues the tools and knowledge to mitigate them, and to raise concerns when appropriate.

The policies above will be updated every 3 years or as regulation or legislation changes.

Chris Askew, Chief Executive.

24 March 2022