The Liberal Democrats have called for urgent action to tackle modern slavery in hand car washes after Conservative Ministers rejected a licensing scheme in their response to the House of Commons Environmental Audit Commission.
Liberal Democrat Home Affairs Spokesperson Ed Davey said: “Yet again the Tories are failing to take the necessary action to tackle modern slavery, even though Theresa May once called it ‘the great human rights issue of our time’.
“Both a committee of MPs and the Government’s own Director of Labour Market Enforcement have called for a trial licensing scheme to prevent car washes exploiting vulnerable people. Conservative Ministers, however, have decided to ignore them. Instead they are leaving it up to the public to choose ‘responsible’ businesses on the basis of a kitemark.
“The victims of human trafficking and modern slavery deserve better, and the Liberal Democrats demand better. The Government must urgently give the anti-slavery authorities the powers and resources they need to inspect car washes and enforce the law.”