Gangmasters: Licensing

(asked on 10th October 2022) - View Source

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what (a) checks, (b) inspections and (c) monitoring the Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority undertakes on the licensing of scheme operators that (i) recruit and (ii) supply workers under the Seasonal Worker visa scheme; and what is the number of inspections that are required for (A) applying for and (B) maintaining a license.


Answered by
Tom Pursglove Portrait
Tom Pursglove
Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
This question was answered on 18th October 2022

The Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority (GLAA) regulates the activities of labour providers, who supply temporary workers into the agricultural sector. The purpose of the GLAA licensing regime is to prevent exploitation of workers and improve standards of compliance by labour suppliers. Any labour provider that supplies workers in the agricultural sector must hold a GLAA licence. As each of the Seasonal Worker Scheme Operators is engaged in the supply of temporary labour into activities in the agricultural sector, they are required to hold a GLAA licence and comply with the licensing standards.

During the application process for a GLAA licence, a check is made of other Government departments and the Police, and an inspection is carried out to check compliance with the licensing standards. Regarding monitoring, the GLAA is intelligence-led when determining which businesses to inspect.

If the GLAA receives intelligence which indicates potential exploitation of workers, then this will be investigated. If non-compliance is found, then action will be taken and if the non-compliance is serious, their GLAA licence could be revoked. If there are indicators of forced labour, the GLAA will investigate using its powers under the Immigration Act 2016 and take appropriate action to bring criminal perpetrators to justice.

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