House of Lords Business
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Lord Alton of Liverpool to ask His Majesty's Government, further to the reply by Lord Benyon on 30 November (HL Deb cols 1172–1174), what steps they are taking to identify whether the cobalt-containing products imported into the UK are associated with child labour in the Democratic Republic of the Congo; what assessment they have made of the credibility of assurances given by consumer-facing technology and electronic vehicle companies that their cobalt supply chains are not associated with child labour, forced labour, hazardous conditions, or environmental destruction arising from mining operations; and what steps they are taking to ensure (1) that the products arriving in the UK contain correct information about the supply chain, (2) that any falsified information is fully addressed, and (3) that, where it is not possible to give assurance from legal and ethical sources, this should be clearly disclosed on the products.  HL798

Question HL798: tabled on 4 December 2023 and due for answer by 18 December 2023

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Question text

Lord Alton of Liverpool to ask His Majesty's Government, further to the reply by Lord Benyon on 30 November (HL Deb cols 1172–1174), what steps they are taking to identify whether the cobalt-containing products imported into the UK are associated with child labour in the Democratic Republic of the Congo; what assessment they have made of the credibility of assurances given by consumer-facing technology and electronic vehicle companies that their cobalt supply chains are not associated with child labour, forced labour, hazardous conditions, or environmental destruction arising from mining operations; and what steps they are taking to ensure (1) that the products arriving in the UK contain correct information about the supply chain, (2) that any falsified information is fully addressed, and (3) that, where it is not possible to give assurance from legal and ethical sources, this should be clearly disclosed on the products.  HL798
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Lord Alton of Liverpool
Crossbench
Life peer