Asked by: Justin Madders (Labour - Ellesmere Port and Bromborough)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, many car washes found to employ illegal workers have (a) been permanently closed and (b) led to the owners jailed in each year for which information is available.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government takes illegal working and worker exploitation very seriously and is committed to tackling non-compliance in high-risk sectors, including car washes. Immigration Enforcement activity has intensified over the past year, with enforcement teams carrying out over 11,000 visits to businesses across all sectors suspected of using illegal workers, marking a 51% increase. These resulted in more than 8,000 arrests, a 63% increase on the same period 12 months prior.
These figures demonstrate that enforcement is having a significant impact in disrupting this illegal activity. However, challenges remain, including the informal nature of the sector. To strengthen outcomes, the forthcoming Fair Work Agency will bring a cross-government response to improve intelligence sharing to increase co-ordination across enforcement bodes.
The Government recognises that car washes can present a risk of being exploited for money laundering and other illicit financial activity. Recent enforcement activity led by the National Crime Agency (Operation MACHINIZE) has identified links between some car washes being used for money laundering and grey economy. As part of targeted enforcement, the National Crime Agency works closely with law enforcement partners, including immigration enforcement to disrupt these activities and strengthen compliance. This approach forms part of a wider strategy to tackle organised crime, protect vulnerable workers, and ensure the integrity of the financial system.
Civil penalties for illegal working remain the principal sanctions for tackling non-compliance and are designed to hold non-compliant employers to account and disrupt illegal working activity. The Home Office will actively pursue debt recovery action in every case. If the employer does not pay the penalty in full or by instalments when due, the penalty will be passed to our external specialist debt recovery agents, registered with the civil court, after which enforcement action will commence. This includes a pre-legal and legal debt recovery strategy where enforcement officers have the powers to apply a range of additional tools including Charging Orders, Attachment of Earnings, Third Party Debt Orders and Orders to Obtain Information.
The Home Office publishes online, on a quarterly basis, details of all employers who have been found liable for a civil penalty and have not paid or are not making regular payments towards the penalty.
Immigration Enforcement acts on intelligence and applies sanctions where immigration offences occur, including civil penalties up to £60,000 per illegal worker, criminal convictions with up to 5 years’ imprisonment, business closure, director disqualification, loss of sponsorship rights, and seizure of illegal earnings. We also work closely with the Insolvency Service to hold non-compliant directors to account and consider them for disqualification. Migrants working illegally face up to 51 weeks’ imprisonment (England and Wales) or 6 months (Scotland and Northern Ireland) and/or a fine.
The Home Office does not hold centrally collated data on the number of car washes that have been permanently closed or the number of owners jailed for employing illegal workers in each year.
Asked by: Justin Madders (Labour - Ellesmere Port and Bromborough)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to collect unpaid fines levied on car washes caught employing illegal workers.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government takes illegal working and worker exploitation very seriously and is committed to tackling non-compliance in high-risk sectors, including car washes. Immigration Enforcement activity has intensified over the past year, with enforcement teams carrying out over 11,000 visits to businesses across all sectors suspected of using illegal workers, marking a 51% increase. These resulted in more than 8,000 arrests, a 63% increase on the same period 12 months prior.
These figures demonstrate that enforcement is having a significant impact in disrupting this illegal activity. However, challenges remain, including the informal nature of the sector. To strengthen outcomes, the forthcoming Fair Work Agency will bring a cross-government response to improve intelligence sharing to increase co-ordination across enforcement bodes.
The Government recognises that car washes can present a risk of being exploited for money laundering and other illicit financial activity. Recent enforcement activity led by the National Crime Agency (Operation MACHINIZE) has identified links between some car washes being used for money laundering and grey economy. As part of targeted enforcement, the National Crime Agency works closely with law enforcement partners, including immigration enforcement to disrupt these activities and strengthen compliance. This approach forms part of a wider strategy to tackle organised crime, protect vulnerable workers, and ensure the integrity of the financial system.
Civil penalties for illegal working remain the principal sanctions for tackling non-compliance and are designed to hold non-compliant employers to account and disrupt illegal working activity. The Home Office will actively pursue debt recovery action in every case. If the employer does not pay the penalty in full or by instalments when due, the penalty will be passed to our external specialist debt recovery agents, registered with the civil court, after which enforcement action will commence. This includes a pre-legal and legal debt recovery strategy where enforcement officers have the powers to apply a range of additional tools including Charging Orders, Attachment of Earnings, Third Party Debt Orders and Orders to Obtain Information.
The Home Office publishes online, on a quarterly basis, details of all employers who have been found liable for a civil penalty and have not paid or are not making regular payments towards the penalty.
Immigration Enforcement acts on intelligence and applies sanctions where immigration offences occur, including civil penalties up to £60,000 per illegal worker, criminal convictions with up to 5 years’ imprisonment, business closure, director disqualification, loss of sponsorship rights, and seizure of illegal earnings. We also work closely with the Insolvency Service to hold non-compliant directors to account and consider them for disqualification. Migrants working illegally face up to 51 weeks’ imprisonment (England and Wales) or 6 months (Scotland and Northern Ireland) and/or a fine.
The Home Office does not hold centrally collated data on the number of car washes that have been permanently closed or the number of owners jailed for employing illegal workers in each year.
Asked by: Justin Madders (Labour - Ellesmere Port and Bromborough)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment has she made of the effectiveness of enforcement on illegal car washes.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government takes illegal working and worker exploitation very seriously and is committed to tackling non-compliance in high-risk sectors, including car washes. Immigration Enforcement activity has intensified over the past year, with enforcement teams carrying out over 11,000 visits to businesses across all sectors suspected of using illegal workers, marking a 51% increase. These resulted in more than 8,000 arrests, a 63% increase on the same period 12 months prior.
These figures demonstrate that enforcement is having a significant impact in disrupting this illegal activity. However, challenges remain, including the informal nature of the sector. To strengthen outcomes, the forthcoming Fair Work Agency will bring a cross-government response to improve intelligence sharing to increase co-ordination across enforcement bodes.
The Government recognises that car washes can present a risk of being exploited for money laundering and other illicit financial activity. Recent enforcement activity led by the National Crime Agency (Operation MACHINIZE) has identified links between some car washes being used for money laundering and grey economy. As part of targeted enforcement, the National Crime Agency works closely with law enforcement partners, including immigration enforcement to disrupt these activities and strengthen compliance. This approach forms part of a wider strategy to tackle organised crime, protect vulnerable workers, and ensure the integrity of the financial system.
Civil penalties for illegal working remain the principal sanctions for tackling non-compliance and are designed to hold non-compliant employers to account and disrupt illegal working activity. The Home Office will actively pursue debt recovery action in every case. If the employer does not pay the penalty in full or by instalments when due, the penalty will be passed to our external specialist debt recovery agents, registered with the civil court, after which enforcement action will commence. This includes a pre-legal and legal debt recovery strategy where enforcement officers have the powers to apply a range of additional tools including Charging Orders, Attachment of Earnings, Third Party Debt Orders and Orders to Obtain Information.
The Home Office publishes online, on a quarterly basis, details of all employers who have been found liable for a civil penalty and have not paid or are not making regular payments towards the penalty.
Immigration Enforcement acts on intelligence and applies sanctions where immigration offences occur, including civil penalties up to £60,000 per illegal worker, criminal convictions with up to 5 years’ imprisonment, business closure, director disqualification, loss of sponsorship rights, and seizure of illegal earnings. We also work closely with the Insolvency Service to hold non-compliant directors to account and consider them for disqualification. Migrants working illegally face up to 51 weeks’ imprisonment (England and Wales) or 6 months (Scotland and Northern Ireland) and/or a fine.
The Home Office does not hold centrally collated data on the number of car washes that have been permanently closed or the number of owners jailed for employing illegal workers in each year.
Asked by: Justin Madders (Labour - Ellesmere Port and Bromborough)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment has she made of the use of car washes in money laundering activity.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government takes illegal working and worker exploitation very seriously and is committed to tackling non-compliance in high-risk sectors, including car washes. Immigration Enforcement activity has intensified over the past year, with enforcement teams carrying out over 11,000 visits to businesses across all sectors suspected of using illegal workers, marking a 51% increase. These resulted in more than 8,000 arrests, a 63% increase on the same period 12 months prior.
These figures demonstrate that enforcement is having a significant impact in disrupting this illegal activity. However, challenges remain, including the informal nature of the sector. To strengthen outcomes, the forthcoming Fair Work Agency will bring a cross-government response to improve intelligence sharing to increase co-ordination across enforcement bodes.
The Government recognises that car washes can present a risk of being exploited for money laundering and other illicit financial activity. Recent enforcement activity led by the National Crime Agency (Operation MACHINIZE) has identified links between some car washes being used for money laundering and grey economy. As part of targeted enforcement, the National Crime Agency works closely with law enforcement partners, including immigration enforcement to disrupt these activities and strengthen compliance. This approach forms part of a wider strategy to tackle organised crime, protect vulnerable workers, and ensure the integrity of the financial system.
Civil penalties for illegal working remain the principal sanctions for tackling non-compliance and are designed to hold non-compliant employers to account and disrupt illegal working activity. The Home Office will actively pursue debt recovery action in every case. If the employer does not pay the penalty in full or by instalments when due, the penalty will be passed to our external specialist debt recovery agents, registered with the civil court, after which enforcement action will commence. This includes a pre-legal and legal debt recovery strategy where enforcement officers have the powers to apply a range of additional tools including Charging Orders, Attachment of Earnings, Third Party Debt Orders and Orders to Obtain Information.
The Home Office publishes online, on a quarterly basis, details of all employers who have been found liable for a civil penalty and have not paid or are not making regular payments towards the penalty.
Immigration Enforcement acts on intelligence and applies sanctions where immigration offences occur, including civil penalties up to £60,000 per illegal worker, criminal convictions with up to 5 years’ imprisonment, business closure, director disqualification, loss of sponsorship rights, and seizure of illegal earnings. We also work closely with the Insolvency Service to hold non-compliant directors to account and consider them for disqualification. Migrants working illegally face up to 51 weeks’ imprisonment (England and Wales) or 6 months (Scotland and Northern Ireland) and/or a fine.
The Home Office does not hold centrally collated data on the number of car washes that have been permanently closed or the number of owners jailed for employing illegal workers in each year.
Asked by: Justin Madders (Labour - Ellesmere Port and Bromborough)
Question
To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, if she will implement the power under section 9(5)(a) of the Equality Act 2010 to make caste a protected characteristic.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The government is considering whether these existing remedies offer appropriate legal protection for victims of caste discrimination.
Asked by: Justin Madders (Labour - Ellesmere Port and Bromborough)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the payment of £500 made to Hadush Kebatu, (a) by what legislative authority this payment was made; (b) what level of payment made under this authority requires ministerial approval, (c) what is the average level of such payments made over the last three years, (d) the total number of such payments made in the last three years and (e) whether she plans to take steps to end such payments.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office applies small discretionary payments, where appropriate, to prevent the failure of returns. These payments facilitate returns by making them quicker and cheaper, helping to avoid delays and additional costs. Decisions on their use are operational in nature.
As always with expenditure on returns, these one-off costs must be set against the much higher long-term costs that would result from the same individuals remaining in the UK, including, where necessary, ongoing expenditure on accommodation or detention and the legal processes required to authorise their removal.
This Government’s priority is keeping the people of this country safe, and we make no apology for seeking to remove dangerous foreign criminals and other immigration offenders.
Asked by: Justin Madders (Labour - Ellesmere Port and Bromborough)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, who is Chair of the Future of Work Committee.
Answered by Chris Ward - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
The full list of Cabinet committees and their membership is available on Gov.uk (List of Cabinet Committees and their membership - GOV.UK).
The Future of Work Committee was chaired by the former Deputy Prime Minister, and Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government. Exact changes are yet to be confirmed. Parliament will be updated on changes to Cabinet committees in the usual way before being published on Gov.uk.
Asked by: Justin Madders (Labour - Ellesmere Port and Bromborough)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many of the school-based nursery pilots originally scheduled to open in September 2025 had opened by 9 September 2025.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
High quality early years is central to our mission to break down the barriers to opportunity and give every child the best possible start in life and is essential to our Plan for Change. This government is boosting availability and access through the school-based nurseries programme, supporting school led provision and private, voluntary and independent providers and childminders operating from school sites.
Phase 1 is already delivering results. We awarded £37 million to 300 schools, creating up to 6,000 new childcare places with the majority available in the 2025/26 academic year. Schools have reported that 160 of these nurseries have opened on or before 9 September and we remain on track to have more than 4,000 additional childcare available places by the end of September.
Asked by: Justin Madders (Labour - Ellesmere Port and Bromborough)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether any ministerial redundancy payments have been repaid to his Department since 2019.
Answered by Mark Spencer
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
Asked by: Justin Madders (Labour - Ellesmere Port and Bromborough)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when he plans to respond to the correspondence of 19 February 2024 from the hon. Member for Ellesmere Port and Neston on the legal restrictions on XL Bully dogs.
Answered by Mark Spencer
A reply will be sent to the hon. Member soon. I apologise for the delay in responding to the hon. Member.