Modern Slavery Act Transparency Statement 2023
Introduction
This Statement is made pursuant to Section 54, of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 (“the Act”) and sets out the steps that Monmouthshire Building Society (“the Society”) have taken to ensure that slavery, servitude, forced and compulsory labour and human trafficking is not taking place in its supply chains or any parts of its business.
The Society has zero tolerance to any kind of modern slavery within our business and recognises that we have a responsibility to be aware of the risks throughout the business and our supply chains.
About the Society
Founded in 1869, we have been serving our members for over 150 years, providing a wide range of mortgages and savings products to its members. As a mutual building society, our members' needs are at the heart of everything we do, providing services through our branch network, online and contact centres.
The Society employs 250 colleagues and all are subject to vetting and referencing before their employment commences and receive regular training on the Society’s values, including whistleblowing and financial crime.
The Society is regulated by both the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA).
Our supply chain
We are committed to ensuring that there is no modern-day slavery within our supply chains and expect our suppliers and partners to act in the same way.
As a provider of financial services the Society is not considered to be in an industry with a high inherent risk of modern-day slavery. However, in delivering our services we procure products, goods, services and works from suppliers with extended supply chains, of which some may present a higher risk. A risk-based approach to supplier due diligence has been implemented to ensure there are sufficient controls and monitoring in place.
Due diligence checks are carried out prior to entering into contracts with suppliers and on an ongoing basis to ensure the risk profile of a supplier has not changed and they continue to meet our own standards.
The procurement process is fully documented within our Outsourcing and Third-Party Risk Management Policy and Framework.
Our suppliers are predominantly based in the UK but where we do use services outside of the UK as well as having the contractual controls in place, there is a rigorous on-boarding process.
The Society’s supply chain includes suppliers of goods and services, including valuation, conveyancing consultancy and professional services, IT hardware and software.
The Society remains committed to taking reasonable steps to contribute toward helping eradicate modern slavery and human trafficking by:
- Excluding suppliers from the procurement process if convicted of modern slavery and / or human trafficking
- Keeping policies and procedures under review
- Ensuring all our supplier contracts contain an anti-slavery clause with termination rights should a supplier be engaged in modern slavery and / or human trafficking.
Training
Training is provided to all colleagues to ensure there is a high level of understanding of the risks of modern slavery and human tracking in our business and supply chains.
This statement was approved by the Board on 2 February 2023
