Modern Slavery Statement

Due to the scope of our business NTW Solutions Limited may be at risk of Modern Slavery (slavery, servitude, forced labour and human trafficking). The following statement has been published in accordance with the Modern Slavery Act 2015 and sets out the steps that will be taken by NTW Solutions Limited during the financial year to the end of March 2025 to prevent modern slavery and human trafficking in its business and supply chains.

Our Organisation

NTW Solutions Limited is a wholly owned subsidiary company of Cumbria, Northumberland, Tyne & Wear NHS Foundation Trust (“the Trust”) based in the North of England with its head office based in Newcastle upon Tyne.  NTW Solutions Limited provides recruitment, procurement, estates, facilities management, transcription, outpatient pharmacy dispensing services and a range of other business support services to the Trust, which is a specialist provider of mental health and learning disability services within England. 

Our Commitment

NTW Solutions Limited condemns slavery of all forms and is fully committed to working with suppliers within our supply chain to support the human rights and welfare of the employees working alongside NTW Solutions. We expect organisations with whom we do business to adopt and enforce policies that comply with this legislation; and would immediately seek to terminate our relationship with a supplier where evidence of a failure to comply with our policies was discovered.

NTW Solutions Limited is committed to ensuring that those involved within the supply chain of our business operations are working of their own free volition; in the delivery of high quality services and/or goods to all customers through a skilled and experienced workforce. NTW Solutions Limited will endeavour to make a conscious effort to monitor operations to ensure no individual is taken advantage of. It is the intention of NTW Solutions Limited to train relevant staff to recognise and report instances where the freedom of an individual is questioned.

Policies, Protocols and Procedures

Our policies and procedures demonstrate 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.

NTW Solutions Limited complies with the NHS employers’ recruitment standards for safe recruitment, and where necessary relevant employment checks will be conducted.

Our approach for recruitment follows robust processes which are in line with UK Employment Laws including ‘right to work’ document checks and contracts of employment. Our pay structure is derived from national collective agreements and is based on equal pay principles.

All policies and procedures are developed alongside the relevant subject matter experts and signed off at an appropriate level within the Company.

Due Diligence

As part of our efforts to monitor and reduce the risk of slavery and human trafficking occurring within our supply chain we have taken steps to enable us to:-

• Establish and assess areas of potential risk in our business and supply chain;
• Monitor potential risk area in our business and supply chains;
• Reduce the risk of slavery and human trafficking occurring in our business and supply chains through the expectation that each entity in the supply chain, at least adopt ‘one-up’ due diligence on the next link in the chain as it is not practical for us to have a direct relationship with all links in the supply chain; and
• Provide adequate protection for whistle-blowers.

Most of our purchases made are under NHS Supply Chain contracts and/or frameworks which have been negotiated under the NHS Standard Terms and Conditions of Contract, which include the requirement for suppliers to have suitable anti-slavery and human trafficking policies and processes in place.

We understand that we also have an exposure to Modern Slavery within the recruitment processes we undertake for the Trust and the company. We undertake to raise awareness within the business in order to identify any potential situations of concern from the first instance.

Due diligence is expected throughout the whole recruitment process and throughout the worker’s employment.  Procedures are reviewed to eliminate risk and gain compliance across all business locations.

Training and Awareness

All new company employees must undertake our induction which provides information on the organisation, our values, policies, protocols and procedures and on Modern Slavery.

Existing staff will be made aware of Modern Slavery through local briefings planned through the year.

Our Procurement service employs duly qualified Members of the Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply having passed the Ethical Procurement and Supply Final Test attached to this Professional Registration.

Senior Procurement Staff have all registered for the ‘Tackling modern slavery in supply chains’ training course which is delivered via the Government Commercial College. This certified training will be completed during the 2024/25 Financial year.

Overview

NTW Solutions Limited is committed to ensuring we operate towards the best practices at all times. By implementing and continually reviewing checks which minimise the risk of any form of modern slavery taking place within our operations, we are able to support the relevant government authorities in reporting any identified situations, and as such protect our business, our clients’ businesses and first and foremost, our workers.

This statement has been approved by the board of directors of the company who will review and update this statement on an annual basis, and it constitutes NTW Solutions Limited’s slavery and human trafficking statement for the current financial year.