MAPLE & MAY LTD’S MODERN SLAVERY STATEMENT 2026
The Modern Slavery Act 2015 (the Act) requires organisations supplying goods or services with a turnover of above £36 million to prepare and publish an annual Modern Slavery Statement. The objectives of the Act are fully supported by Choice Housing Group, of which Maple & May is a subsidiary, and we are committed to improving our practices to combat slavery and human trafficking in our supply chains.
Choice Housing Group (Choice) is publishing this statement setting out what it has done to recognise and prevent potential incidences of modern slavery in the Financial Year 2026/27.
ORGANISATIONAL STRUCTURE
Maple & May is the affordable and private rental housing subsidiary of Choice Group. As a professional landlord and ‘profit-for-purpose' company, we are committed to raising standards in the private rented sector whilst increasing the supply of high-quality, affordable homes for sale across Northern Ireland. Our ultimate parent company is Choice Housing Ireland Limited having its head office in Northern Ireland. The Group has nearly 500 employees and operates throughout Ireland. The Group has a global annual turnover of over £105 million.
We acquire and develop land and housing to create new opportunities for individuals, families and communities. Through Design and Build partnerships and joint ventures with established developers, we deliver quality homes to rent and buy, combining commercial expertise with social purpose. As both an employer and as a landlord, we are committed to running our business responsibly. By creating more places to thrive, we will protect and enhance the communities we work for and with.
OUR BUSINESS
Choice Housing Ireland Limited is organised into several business units including the following:
Finance & Resources (which includes Procurement); Development, including Maple & May (which deals with development of new builds, private and affordable rent), Assets (which deals with asset management); Tenant and Client Services (which deals with housing allocation, estate management, income recovery, care and support, property services and our customer contact centre); and Corporate Services (which includes HR, marketing and communication, and ICT).
Each unit has a dedicated group director. The Group Chief Executive has overall responsibility for the actions of these units. The Group Chief Executive then reports to the board of directors of Choice Housing Ireland Limited.
OUR SUPPLY CHAINS
Our supply chains include the sourcing of a wide range of services used by the Group. All of those service providers are selected through a procurement process. The services that the Group tenders for include but are not limited to the following:
- design team appointments;
- new build and re improvement work contractor appointments;
- design and build contracts;
measured term response maintenance and repair contracts; - planning consultant services
- grounds maintenance services
- anti-social behaviour response services
- cleaning
- all other professional services
OUR POLICIES & PROCEDURES
We continue to review our existing policies and procedures in light of the Act in accordance with our internal governance procedures. We are confident that our policies promote good behaviour among our colleagues both at work and within our supply chain. Our policies and procedures are kept under review to make sure that they reflect the Group’s evolution and our regulatory and statutory obligations.
We have a number of policies and procedures in place, all of which have been updated, that contribute to ensuring modern slavery does not occur in our business or supply chain which includes:
Employee Code of Conduct;
Anti -Fraud & Bribery Policy;
Whistleblowing Policy;
Choice Procurement Procedures – in line with NI Public Procurement Policy;
Recruitment and Selection Procedure
TRAINING
To ensure a high level of understanding of the risks of modern slavery and human trafficking in our supply chains and in our business, we have provided training to relevant members of staff, typically “front line” staff working in our communities. The training is reviewed regularly and updated to ensure that it remains relevant and reflects existing best practice.
During mandatory staff induction, the area of modern slavery is highlighted. Our Scheme Coordinators complete an online Safeguarding course the content of which includes modern slavery.
Standalone modern slavery training provided to staff includes
1. What modern slavery is
2. How to spot signs of modern slavery
3. Your responsibilities as an employee
4. How to raise a modern slavery concern
Attendance at this training is tracked and recorded by our Learning and Development Team.
RECRUITMENT
Our approach to recruitment and selection contains relevant requirements in terms of checking of eligibility to work in the UK and carrying out the necessary checks such as AccessNI. For every successful application, we check proof of eligibility to work in the UK; this initially is by way of a question upon application and then verification of relevant documentation before/after the interview. This is by the production of a valid passport, or via other means such as a full birth certificate. For roles that require AccessNI clearance; each relevant role clearly states the requirement for an AccessNI check and the level of clearance associated with that role and the relevant AccessNI check is undertaken for all offered candidates where it is a role requirement.
References are also taken for every potential new starter covering two years full career history and a minimum of two references – if there are any gaps in employment greater than one month we will investigate and clarify the gap and where possible, seek a character reference.
SUPPLY CHAINS
The Procurement Team has set procedures for the assessment and due diligence of suppliers which includes standard selection or eligibility questions including specific questions on modern slavery which asks all bidders to demonstrate that they comply with the Act. Our standards are fully compliant with all legislation relating to public procurement, including those around modern slavery. All of our Procurement team are CIPS (Chartered Institute of Procurement & Supply) qualified. The Procurement Manager holds MCIPS Chartered Status and has been awarded Ethical Procurement and Supply certification.
The Procurement Team publicly advertises all tendering opportunities above £50k via eTenders NI. The goods, works and services that Group typically purchases tend to be from industries that are highly regulated such as law, asset safety, compliance and are therefore of a lower risk for modern slavery. However, we continue to enhance the assurances we seek from supply chain members as to their avoidance of modern slavery and human trafficking. For those suppliers we use in higher risk supply chains, such as construction and supply of materials, we conduct additional checks such as site visits carried out by 3rd party consultant design teams and in house clerk of works.
CHOICE AND IMPLEMENTING SOCIAL VALUE
From 1 June 2022, Department of Finance Construction and Procurement Delivery introduced a Procurement Policy Note (PPN) in respect of Social Value in Procurement in Northern Ireland. Contracting Authorities were advised that tenders must include a minimum of 10% of the total award criteria to score social value. Organisations who are required to adhere to the Public Procurement regulations including Choice were encouraged to score for social value in advance of 1 June 2022 if possible. This 10% minimum was to apply to contracts for services and works above the threshold where the Procurement Regulations apply (i.e., services contracts valued above £207,720 and construction contracts valued above £5,193,000 Inclusive of VAT). Where appropriate, organisations were advised to score for social value on contracts outside of these thresholds. They can also give greater weight to social value than the 10% minimum.
This Procurement Policy Note was refreshed in 2024 and an updated version published on 24th February 2025 in line with the deployment of the Procurement Act.
It is mandatory that services contracts (over £500,000 inclusive of VAT) and works contracts (over the UK Threshold which is £5,193,000) are awarded based on social value, as well as cost and quality.
The % minimum score will be reviewed by December 2026 to consider whether an increase will help to meet the policy intention.
Choice is committed to adhering to this approach and has updated policies and procedures to ensure that it is undertaking tender activities in line with the Procurement Policy Note (PPN) 0121 as amended. As part of our tenders, Choice asks tenderers to submit a Social Value Delivery Plan, which is submitted to SIBNI (Strategic Investment Board Northern Ireland) with delivery tracked on a monthly basis.
OUR ON-GOING COMMITMENT TO THE MODERN SLAVERY ACT 2015
We are committed to ensuring as far as possible that there is no modern slavery or human trafficking in our supply chains or in any part of our business. Our commitment is to act ethically and with integrity in all our business relationships and to implement effective systems and controls to ensure slavery and human trafficking is not taking place. We are further committed to making sure that our properties are not used to accommodate the work of human traffickers or detain others for servitude and work with a range of agencies, including the police and local authorities to ensure that Information is shared, and action is taken if necessary.
Public procurement is highly regulated, and Choice is subject to the rules, regulations and due diligence around this. All our procurement activity is governed by these regulations.
OUR POLICY ON SLAVERY AND HUMAN TRAFFICKING
We have implemented an anti-slavery policy which reflects our commitment to acting ethically and with integrity in all our business relationships and to implementing and enforcing effective systems and controls to ensure slavery and human trafficking is not taking place anywhere in our supply chains. Our learning and development team deployed modern slavery awareness training in 2021.
DUE DILIGENCE PROCESSES FOR SLAVERY AND HUMAN TRAFFICKING
As part of our initiative to identify and mitigate risk we have (through our procurement team) systems in place to:
- Identify and assess potential risk areas in our supply chains;
- Mitigate the risk of slavery and human trafficking occurring in our supply chains; and
- Monitor potential risk areas in our supply chains.
SUPPLIER ADHERENCE TO OUR VALUES
We have zero tolerance to slavery and human trafficking. To ensure all those in our supply chain and contractors comply with our values we have dedicated compliance procedures.
PPN05/21 HUMAN RIGHTS IN PUBLIC PROCUREMENT
Decisions made in public procurement processes can have consequences on the human rights of people employed to deliver goods and services through government contracts. Choice is aware of its obligations under this Procurement Policy Note and as an organisation subject to Northern Ireland Public Procurement Policy (NIPPP) due to the funding received from Department for Communities.
Through its Procurement activities, Choice is committed to demonstrating its compliance to:
- Human Rights Act 1998,
- Northern Ireland Act 1998,
- Modern Slavery Act 2015, and
- other relevant legislative standards
DECLARATION
This statement is made pursuant to section 54(1) of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 and constitutes our Group's slavery and human trafficking statement for the financial year ending 31st March 2027.