We are a not-for-profit social housing business creating homes that are a foundation for life. We do however have Signature New Homes, who develop open market housing to subsidise the development of more affordable homes.
As a registered provider we do not operate extensive, worldwide supply chains. Due to this, we can build close relationships with suppliers which enable us to promote our commitment with regards to slavery and human trafficking.
We are committed to ensuring that there is no modern slavery in our supply chains or in any part of our organisation. As part of this, we have an Anti Slavery and Human Trafficking Policy which reflects our commitment to acting ethically and with integrity in all our business relationships, as well as implementing and enforcing effective systems and controls to ensure slavery and human trafficking is not taking place anywhere in our supply chains. This policy was reviewed in May 2022, underwent an interim review in December 2023 and is due for a full review in July 2025. A copy of the policy can be found on our website.
Citizen’s Procurement Policy underwent a full review in 2024/25 to ensure it’s compliance with the new procurement act. The Procurement Team have undertaken work to prepare colleagues for the requirements of the Act including enhanced duties around reporting instances of modern slavery should a breach be identified.
Citizen recognises that modern slavery is not confined to supply chains and we see identifying modern slavery or human trafficking as part of our duty as a landlord and as an employer.
In 2024 it was reported that some major employers in the U.K. had been employing victims of modern slavery, failing to identify the same key risk indicators such as the same bank accounts or addresses used for several employees. Following these reports, we checked our policies and processes, and we are confident in our payroll processes and reporting would identify such risks. Similar checks are also made for customers' account when issuing credit recharges.
We are an organisation that plays an active role in our communities and are often in a unique position to spot signs that may indicate a concern. We have policies and procedures in place to ensure that safeguarding concerns can be reported easily including
POLICY STATEMENT Anti-Slavery and Human Trafficking Statement
Version : 10 Author(s) : Kevin Rodgers Approved at/by: Citizen Board
Date: March 2025 Page 2 of 5 Date of review: March 2026
UNCONTROLLED WHEN PRINTED