This statement has been prepared for the purpose of Section 54(1) of the Modern Slavery Act 2015, and it sets out WithYou's position and steps taken to understand all potential modern slavery risks related to its activities, and to prevent modern slavery and human trafficking in its business and supply chains. We recognise that slavery, servitude, forced labour and human trafficking are serious crimes committed across the UK, in which victims are exploited for someone else’s gain. We have a zero tolerance approach to these crimes and where people who use our services are suspected of being the victims of modern slavery or trafficking, they will be supported and encouraged to contact the relevant agencies and take the necessary actions to break free. .
With You is a company limited by guarantee (company no. 02580377) and a registered charity in England (1001957) and in Scotland (SC040009). We support adults, children, young adults and families to make positive behaviour changes whether they are affected by drug and alcohol or mental health issues. During 2023/24 we employed over 1500 staff, delivering services from approximately 36 locations across England and Scotland. During the year we worked with over 100,000 people, ranging from young children to older adults. We recognise that many of our clients are very vulnerable and we are working to ensure that all our staff members are aware of the dangers that people who use our services may face, including being victims of modern slavery or trafficking.
Our supply chain includes clinicals supplies, utilities, IT and technology, consumables, pharmaceuticals, support services, consulting and professional services.
We procure our products and services from predominantly domestic suppliers. When evaluating a supplier, we take into account a number of factors including and not limited to: social value, the environment and achieving best value for our organisation.
We carry out person-centred, individual, risk assessments to inform the support and clinical treatment delivered to all who use our services. The risk assessment includes safeguarding, which encompasses the risk of clients being exposed to modern slavery; risk management plans and liaison with other agencies where necessary.
Our risk management approach for our supply chain includes supplier due diligence checks and contract management. For our employees and the people who use our services, we risk-assess and manage risk by the application of our policies and procedures, combined with incident reporting, raising concerns and safeguarding processes.
We have an in-house learning and development platform, all our staff undertake safeguarding adults and children training, and our frontline staff also complete ad-hoc e-learning modules that incorporate the Care Certificate standards, which include modern slavery.
We regularly review and update our policies to ensure they reflect the law and applicable best practice. Our current policies and guidance with direct relevance to modern slavery and employee responsibilities include:
Safeguarding Children (England and Scotland) Policy
Safeguarding Adults Policy
Whistleblowing Policy
Incident Management Policy
Complaints Policy
Dignity at Work Policy
Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Policy
Young Persons Domestic Abuse Policy
Code of Conduct
Supporting people who experience domestic abuse (guidance)
During 2023-24 we have been reviewing our procurement practices and processes to ensure that, as part of establishing an effective supplier management framework, we remain compliant with the requirements under the Modern Slavery Act, the Equality Act and the Human Rights Act throughout our supplier base.
Simon Phillips, CEO
On Behalf of the Board of Trustees
10 April 2024