My Lords, the Bill will not reduce the rights and protections in relation to modern slavery and trafficking. Accordingly, there can
be no diminution of rights under Article 2 of the protocol. The Bill complies with all our international commitments, so I do not think that this amendment is necessary—in fact, I think that it could do harm. It could exclude some, but not all, of the Bill’s modern slavery provisions from extending to Northern Ireland, which would only create disparities across the United Kingdom. In turn, this would create a potentially damaging lack of certainty for potential victims of modern slavery and decision-makers.
I am not in a position to answer the request from the noble Baroness, Lady Ritchie, for an account of the consultation between the bodies that she identified and those preparing the Bill but, if she wishes, I am prepared to undertake to correspond with her on that topic if that would be satisfactory at this stage.