§ Mr. AllenTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what advice her Department gives to(a) consumers, (b) investors and (c) businesses on issues of (i) human rights, (ii) environmental protection, (iii) the use of forced labour and child labour and (iv) crime and corruption in overseas countries. [94484]
§ Ms HewittThe Department of Trade and Industry and other government departments provide a range of information, most accessibly through their websites, on conditions in a range of overseas countries. This will assist consumers, investors and businesses to make1268W informed decisions for themselves on specific issues of concern to them. For example, the Foreign & Commonwealth Office's website (www.fco.gov.uk) offers country profiles, most of which include sections on human rights. Also published on this site is the FCO's Annual Report on Human Rights that gives comprehensive information on human rights for abuses worldwide and UK action. The Department for Work and Pensions provides information on the ILO's core labour conventions including those on forced and child labour in its sustainable development report (available at www.dwp.gov.uk), and contributes to a variety of other Government information sources, notably the Corporate Social Responsibility website (www.societyandbusiness.gov.uk). The FCO offers information to travellers on certain aspects of crime in some overseas countries and tailored information to UK firms and investors planning to do business in a specific overseas country. Information on this second topic is available on the TPUK website (www.tradepartners.gov.uk). The UK has also signed up to the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises, a set of recommendations for good corporate behaviour that include amongst other things recommendations on human rights, bribery and the environment—they are available at www.oecd.org.