Director of Labour Market Enforcement Annual Strategy 2025-26

Monday 21st July 2025 Written Statements

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department (Jess Phillips)]

Alongside my hon Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Employment Rights, Competition and Markets (Justin Madders), I am publishing today the labour market enforcement annual strategy for 2025-26, submitted by the DLME Margaret Beels OBE. The strategy will be available on www.gov.uk.

The Director’s role was created by the Immigration Act 2016 to bring better focus and strategic co-ordination to the enforcement of labour market legislation by the three enforcement bodies which are responsible for state enforcement of specific employment rights:

The Employment Agency Standards Inspectorate (EAS);

His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs National Minimum and Living Wage enforcement team (HMRC NMW/NLW team); and

The Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority (GLAA).

Under Section 2 of The Act, the Director is required to prepare an annual labour market enforcement strategy, which assesses the scale and nature of non-compliance in the labour market and sets priorities for future enforcement by the three enforcement bodies and the allocation of resources needed to deliver those priorities. The annual strategy, once approved, is laid before Parliament.

The Director is a statutory office-holder independent from Government, but accountable to the Department for Business and Trade’s Secretary of State and the Home Secretary.

In line with the obligations under the Act, Margaret Beels submitted this strategy for 2025-26 on 31 March 2025.

This strategy continues from the 2024-25 strategy by reinforcing the same four themes to provide an assessment of the scale and nature of non-compliance: improving the radar picture; improving focus and effectiveness; engage and support; and better joined-up thinking. The strategy also notes sectors where the risk level has changed and assesses that agriculture, hand car washes, construction and adult social care are the highest risk sectors for non-compliance.

The strategy also includes an additional theme on the Fair Work Agency (FWA) and the opportunities arising from implementing the FWA.

The creation of the FWA is central to this Government’s mission to grow living standards in every part of the UK by the end of this Parliament. It will bring together, in one place, the labour market state enforcement functions and the strategic oversight role currently undertaken by the DLME. This will address current fragmentation and improve accountability and effectiveness. In doing so it will level the playing field for the vast majority of employers who do right by their workers and ensure that those who don’t no longer have the leeway to exploit their workers.

The Government will carefully examine the recommendations emerging both from the strategy and the accompanying engagement with stakeholders, and will take these into account in the formulation of detailed plans for the FWA, as well as ongoing policy development on tackling illegal working and labour market exploitation.

I thank the DLME for her strategy and in particular her commitment to supporting the creation of this important new body.

[HCWS863]