Modern slavery and human trafficking statement

The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is committed to combatting slavery and human trafficking. This statement sets out the steps that the RA is taking to ensure modern slavery is not taking place in our business or supply chains and is made pursuant to Section 54 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015. This statement is applicable for the financial year which ended 31 August 2021. The statement applies to the RA as a whole, which includes the following entities:

- The Royal Academy of Arts (‘RA’) (company no. 6298947) – an independent charity led by eminent artists and architects to promote the Arts of Design through exhibitions and education.

- R. A. Enterprises Ltd (company no. 1666333) – a wholly-owned subsidiary of the RA that operates the RA’s shops and e-commerce, restaurants and cafés, publications, art sales and commercial learning.

- Burlington House Ltd (company no. 2216104) – a wholly-owned subsidiary of the RA that conducts fundraising, through ticketed events, from the corporate sector and individuals.

- RA (Arts) Ltd (company no. 2836364 – a wholly- owned subsidiary of the RA that operates entertainment and community services for the corporate sector.

- The Friends of the Royal Academy (company no. 1291535) – a separate charity with its own trustees, it supports the work of the Royal Academy and promotes the creation and appreciation of the arts.

- The Royal Academy Trust (charity no. 1067270) – a separately registered charity, whose object is the maintenance, development, advancement and preservation of the Royal Academy.

You can read more about our activities in our latest annual report, here.

Our Performance
Set out below is a summary of our activities over the financial year, and how these build on our previous efforts.

Supply Chain & Contractual
As explained in previous statements, we have established the highest risk categories in our supply chain based on level of spend and nature of activities. These categories are:

1. Building Works;

2. Art Transport;

3. IT;

4. Print;

5. Facilities Management;

6. Catering;

7. Retail.

New Suppliers:
as part of our procurement processes we ask questions of potential suppliers regarding their compliance with the Modern Slavery Act, where the service falls within our main risk categories and anticipated spend is above £25,000. We have reviewed responses from suppliers, together with their own Modern Slavery policies, and raised further queries where appropriate.

Existing Suppliers:
[note this activity was carried out at the beginning of 2022 – after the end of the financial year 2020/21].

We have carried out some initial due diligence against suppliers with whom the RA spent over £25,000 in the calendar year 2021. This involved ‘desktop’ Internet research to establish whether suppliers publish a modern slavery statement on their website. Of the 52 suppliers identified, 20 had turnover below £36m or were based overseas and therefore may not be required to publish a statement. Of the remaining 32, 22 had a modern slavery statement clearly published on their website. We intend to follow up directly with the remaining 10 suppliers.

Contracts:
The RA’s standard terms and conditions relating to sponsorship, venue hire and corporate membership, together with other terms and conditions the RA proposes to suppliers and other contractual partners, each contain explicit provisions requiring compliance with the Modern Slavery Act 2015 and/or the RA’s policy, entitling the RA to terminate the contract where this is not adhered to.

The RA is accredited as a London Living Wage employer, requiring larger value contractors and suppliers to pay their staff the London Living Wage. We have introduced these requirements into major contracts, for example in the areas of catering and security.

Policies
The RA has a policy on Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking, which was updated on 2 March 2021.

Training, Recruitment and Employment
We have not undertaken specific staff training relating to modern slavery. This is in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic, during which income has fallen significantly and the RA has restructured its operations and reduced its staff numbers. We will keep this under review.

When individuals apply to work at the RA, they are required to answer mandatory questions, including one which seeks to identify whether they may be a victim of modern slavery.

When new members of staff begin work at the RA, they are provided with a staff handbook, which contains information on modern slavery and references the RA Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking Policy.

If you have any queries regarding this statement, please contact:

- Michael Casartelli (Head of Procurement) (michael.casartelli@royalacademy.org.uk); or

- Benedict Anstey (General Counsel) (benedict.anstey@royalacademy.org.uk).

- Katy Grêlé (Head of Human Resources) (katy.grele@royalacademy.org.uk).

Approved by the Council of the Royal Academy of Arts on 1 February 2022.

Rebecca Salter, President – The Royal Academy of Arts

Download our 2018/19 Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking Statement

Download our 2019/20 Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking Statement