The report said it was “highly concerning” so many first tier government suppliers were non-compliant and this was a “shocking wrong that must be righted immediately.”

It also found a wide variety of quality in the statements produced. Nearly half failed to reference due diligence processes and only 12 shared modern slavery KPIs, as recommended under Home Office guidelines.

The report comes as the latest official statistics show a record number of potential modern slavery victims were referred to authorities in 2017. The National Crime Agency (NCA) said the number of referrals increased by a third, from 3,804 in 2016 to 5,145 in 2017.

Eliminating modern slavery in public procurement, produced by Tussell, a public sector contract database, and Sancroft, a sustainability consultant, looked at the government’s top 100 suppliers by value, representing contracts worth £27.5bn.

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