Introduction
sportscotland is committed to implementing good practice and supply chain management to support eradication of slavery and human trafficking. sportscotland adopts a 'zero-tolerance' approach to slavery and human trafficking.
This statement is made pursuant to section 54 (Part 6) of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 and is intended to inform sportscotland staff and the public of the steps taken by sportscotland to mitigate the risk of slavery and human trafficking.
sportscotland has a responsibility to take a proactive approach to slavery and human trafficking. This statement sets out the actions we will take to mitigate potential modern slavery risks related to our business and the steps implemented to ensure no slavery or human trafficking happens during our organisation's activities.
Modern slavery is a crime and a violation of fundamental human rights that are established in both domestic and international law. It takes various forms, such as slavery, servitude, forced and compulsory labour and human trafficking, all of which include the deprivation of a person's liberty, exploiting them for personal or commercial gain.
The information below highlights the areas of our business impacted by the Modern Slavery Act:
Area of sportscotland business
Human Resources
Potential modern slavery impact: There are risks of modern slavery occurring during recruitment of people to our organisation, so it is vital that our staff are trained and aware of the risks in order to mitigate and prevent slavery and human trafficking.
Funding
Potential modern slavery impact: Our grant recipients may engage with third parties to provide services to their facilities. As a result, it is important that sportscotland engages with our grant recipients to ensure that they adopt our commitment to preventing modern slavery.
We will ensure that grant recipients demonstrate compliance with the Modern Slavery Act. This will prevent funding being awarded where modern slavery may be taking place.
Procurement
Potential modern slavery impact: In procuring goods and services, we will ensure that organisations that we contract with demonstrate compliance with the Modern Slavery Act. This will prevent contracts being awarded to any organisations in which modern slavery may be taking place.
These standards apply to everyone working for or on behalf of sportscotland including all employees, contractors, agency workers, etc. It is their responsibility to prevent, detect and report modern slavery in all parts of our operations. Any breach of this commitment should be reported. sportscotland has a Whistle Blowing Policy to allow staff to report suspected issues of modern slavery to the Senior Management Team (SMT) in confidence and in strict accordance with the terms of the Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998 (also known as the Whistleblowers' Act). This Act protects the legitimate interests of staff who report malpractices in their workplace.
Any member of staff who has concerns or a suspicion over illegal activity at sportscotland, including that modern slavery has taken place, is encouraged to report such suspicions to:-
- their line manager;
- Human Resources; or
- the Legal Team.
If an initial investigation suggests there is a case for further investigation, the body (internal or external) best placed to undertake the further investigation will be informed. sportscotland will investigate concerns in line with internal reporting mechanisms.
This statement explains who we are as an organisation, what sportscotland does, where we believe our risks of slavery and human trafficking exist, how these risks are managed and the steps being taking to manage those risks.
About us
The Scottish Sports Council, trading as 'sportscotland' is a non-departmental public body established by Royal Charter in 1972, and is the national agency for sport in Scotland. The daily operation of sportscotland is delegated to the Chief Executive Officer and the SMT.
sportscotland's head office is in Glasgow with offices, national centres and performance centres throughout Scotland. sportscotland's responsibilities include:
- providing millions of pounds each year to local communities, clubs, sports and individual athletes to improve and develop sport across Scotland;
- making sport accessible to all; and
- delivering training and learning opportunities, giving advice and offering best practice guidance to sport governing bodies.
Structure Business, Contractors and Supply Chains
The Scottish Sports Council Trust Company (a private company limited by guarantee with charitable status), is a wholly owned subsidiary of sportscotland, having its registered office at Doges, Templeton on the Green, 62 Templeton Street, Glasgow, G40 1DA. This company is included in sportscotland's financial statements.
sportscotland carries out trading activity at its National Centres. This involves revenue from group and individual use of all our world class facilities. The National Centres are managed separately by The Scottish Sports Council Trust Company.
sportscotland buys a wide range of goods, services, and works directly from suppliers and contractors. sportscotland's supply chains cover all areas of the organisation with some examples of categories as follows:
- Estates and Facilities: Construction, Capital Building Projects, Cleaning and Catering Services, Security; and
- Corporate Services: ICT Equipment and Services.
The majority of sportscotland's supply base is Scottish.
sportscotland is committed to responding to the challenges of climate change and promoting the development of all sports in a sustainable way.
sportscotland is working to ensure that in the supplier selection process, appropriate measures are taken to exclude suppliers with convictions under the relevant sections of the Modern Slavery Act.
sportscotland is committed to achieve sustainable procurement. We believe this action will help us in further managing the risk of modern slavery and human trafficking in our supply chains by improving our knowledge of our indirect suppliers. Information on our procurement policies and strategies are available on our website: Procurement - sportscotland the national agency for sport in Scotland
Our people
sportscotland employs around 350 staff in a variety of professions.
sportscotland's recruitment is governed by a Recruitment and Selection Policy: Recruitment and Selection Policy
sportscotland undertakes appropriate pre-employment checks and verification to ensure a right to work in the UK, and further identity checks where required for all people sportscotland employ, whether in a permanent or short-term post. sportscotland works in partnership with our recognised Trade Union, Public and Commercial Services Union and is a Living Wage accredited employer.
Recruiting people to our organisation poses risks that modern slavery might occur. By adhering to our Recruitment and Selection Policy and the measures outlined above relating to eligibility, sportscotland ensures that the risks of modern slavery occurring are prevented.
Policies in relation to slavery and human trafficking
sportscotland adopts the following policies which help to minimise the risk of modern slavery and human trafficking in our organisation:
- Recruitment and Selection Policy: Recruitment and selection policy
- Complaints Policy: Complaints - sportscotland the national agency for sport in Scotland
- Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Policy: Sport for Life and our approach to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion - sportscotland the national agency for sport in Scotland
- Procurement Strategy: Procurement - sportscotland the national agency for sport in Scotland
- Investment: Investment in SGBs and Local Authorities - sportscotland the national agency for sport in Scotland
- Funding: Funding - sportscotland the national agency for sport in Scotland
- Fraud Awareness Policy (Internal)
All policies are communicated to sportscotland staff and enforced. Policies are discussed along with our recognised Trade Union and shared on the sportscotland website and our internal platform, SharePoint, for all employees to access without restriction.
sportscotland will continue to review its activities and will work towards incorporating modern slavery and anti-human trafficking measures in all relevant areas of the business.
Our Funding Programmes
Through the National Lottery and government funding, sportscotland makes financial awards to a wide variety of sports, clubs, individual athletes and facilities.
sportscotland's funding awards include several specific clauses requiring our successful applicants to comply with the Modern Slavery Act, both directly and through any contracts associated with sportscotland funding awards.
Additionally, please see the following link for further funding details: Funding - sportscotland the national agency for sport in Scotland
Risk assessment, prevention and mitigation
The risk of modern slavery occurring in sportscotland's direct or indirect interests is considered low. However, we take responsibility to identify and respond to any potential risks very seriously.
sportscotland will continue to assess the risks of modern slavery in its recruitment process and will provide training to relevant staff to ensure that they are aware of the risks and signs of modern slavery occurring. sportscotland will also carry out regular policy reviews to ensure that we prevent and mitigate modern slavery across all areas of the organisation. This approach will also apply to investment in governing bodies for sport (SGBs) and any funding awards made from the cycling and facilities funds.
sportscotland follows the requirements from The Procurement Reform (Scotland) Act 2014 for public bodies to consider how their procurements can be used to improve social, economic and environmental well-being, and reduce inequality and act in a way to secure this.
The Scottish Government's suggested approach is to consider actions on a case-by-case basis to ensure proportionality and this is the approach we take. We also have a statement on the procurement of fairly and ethically traded goods in our Procurement Strategy and we use the standard Scottish Government terms and conditions which allow for contract termination if the contractor or a sub-contractor fails to comply with environmental, social and employment law when carrying out that contract.
Reporting
sportscotland commits to following the government guidance and will continue to update this statement each year to reflect our commitment and progress in relation to mitigating and preventing the risks of modern slavery.
sportscotland, in line with government guidance and section 54 of the Modern Slavery Act, will add this statement to the government registry to make it easier for people to find.
8. Due Diligence Processes
sportscotland, through the Scottish Government, adopts the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights: The UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights : UN Guiding Principles Reporting Framework (ungpreporting.org)
sportscotland commits to mitigating and preventing the risks of modern slavery as far as possible by adopting the appropriate policies as referred to in Section 4 of this Statement.
sportscotland will address actual and potential adverse human rights impacts caused by its own activities or which may be directly linked to sportscotland's operations, products or services by its relationships with third parties.
sportscotland recognises due diligence should be ongoing and that human rights risks may change over time as the way in which sportscotland operates evolves.
sportscotland is committed to developing and launching an appropriate modern slavery training session to all relevant staff within the organisation.