Kent and Medway NHS and Social Care Partnership Trust (KMPT) is a mental health trust that provides mental health, learning disability, substance misuse and specialist services to approximately 1.8 million people across Kent and Medway.

The trust is one of the most geographically spread mental health trusts in England, covering an area of 1,450 square miles. We are planning to have annual revenue of £195 million and employ approximately 3,500 staff who work across 66 buildings on 33 sites. We procure goods and services from a range of providers. Contracts vary from small one-off purchases to large service contracts.

Arrangements to prevent slavery and human trafficking

We are committed to ensuring there is no modern slavery or human trafficking in our supply chains or any part of our business activity.

Our commitment to social and environmental responsibility is covered by our approach to modern slavery and human trafficking, which is part of our safeguarding strategy and arrangements.

Our arrangements

Safeguarding

Our commitment to ensure no modern slavery is reflected in a number of our policies and procedures. These include our adults and children safeguarding policies, which have been developed and maintained within the national and local safeguarding children governance and accountabilities frameworks.

It includes guidance on initial contact with a suspected human trafficking victim and the national referral mechanism.

Training and promotion

Our safeguarding training includes role relevant modern slavery awareness and understanding to reflect the Department of Health’s project around Provider Responses, Treatment and Care for Trafficked People (PROTECT).

Suppliers/tenders

The trust complies with the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 and uses the mandatory Crown Commercial Services (CCS) pre-qualification questionnaire on procurements, which exceed the prescribed threshold. Bidders are required to confirm their compliance with the Modern Slavery Act.

Sub-contracts

Our procurement and contracting team is qualified and experienced in managing healthcare contracts and have receive appropriate briefing on the requirements of the Modern Slavery Act 2015, which includes:

• requesting evidence of their plans and arrangements to prevent slavery in their activities and supply chain
• using our routine contract management meetings with our providers, to address any issues around modern slavery
• implementing any relevant clauses contained within the Standard NHS Contract.

Modern slavery act – Section 54

Section 54 of the modern slavery act details the following:

• (4) A slavery and human trafficking statement for a financial year is—
  • (a) a statement of the steps the organisation has taken during the financial year to ensure that slavery and human trafficking is not taking place—
  • (i) in any of its supply chains, and
  • (ii) in any part of its own business, or
  • (b) a statement that the organisation has taken no such steps.

• (5) An organisation’s slavery and human trafficking statement may include information about—
  
  • (a) the organisation’s structure, its business and its supply chains;
  • (b) its policies in relation to slavery and human trafficking;
  • (c) its due diligence processes in relation to slavery and human trafficking in its business and supply chains;
  • (d) the parts of its business and supply chains where there is a risk of slavery and human trafficking taking place, and the steps it has taken to assess and manage that risk;
  • (e) its effectiveness in ensuring that slavery and human trafficking is not taking place in its business or supply chains, measured against such performance indicators as it considers appropriate;
    o (f) the training about slavery and human trafficking available to its staff.

This statement is made pursuant to section 54(1) of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 and constitutes our slavery and human trafficking statement for the last financial year.

Helen Greatorex
Chief Executive

Bright Sky app

Bright Sky is a safe, easy to use app and website that provides practical support and information on how to respond to domestic abuse. It is for anyone experiencing domestic abuse, or who is worried about someone else.

Bright Sky helps you to spot the signs of abuse, know how to respond, and help someone find a safe route to support.

The app can be downloaded for free via the app stores. Please only download the app if it is safe for you to do so and if you are sure that your phone isn’t being monitored.

Launched in partnership with Vodafone Foundation and Thames Valley Partnership, the app hosts a UK-wide directory of specialist support service and offers users assessment tools to help you spot the signs for someone experiencing domestic abuse. It has had over 80,000 downloads since its launch in 2018. The website is focused on how to spot the signs of domestic abuse, advice on how to support someone you have concerns for, and ways to find help.