Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Safeguarding (): Alongside my Honourable
friend the Minister for Enterprise, Markets and Small Business, I
am publishing today the Labour Market Enforcement Annual Strategy
for 2023-24, submitted by the DLME Margaret Beels OBE. The
Strategy will be available on GOV.UK
The Director of Labour Market Enforcement’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);
- Her 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 of Labour Market
Enforcement 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 2023-24 on 31st March
2023.
This strategy continues on from the 2022-23 strategy by using the
same four themes to provide an assessment of the scale and nature
of non-compliance and notes sectors where the risk level has
changed. The strategy sets out the DLME’s desire to achieve
improved cohesion and join-up between the DLME and the three
state enforcement bodies through non-legislative measures,
including suggestions of where the enforcement bodies and sponsor
departments should be focusing their efforts.
The Government’s view is that the enforcement bodies have been
funded sufficiently to deliver the activities set out in the
strategy.
The DLME carried out stakeholder engagement for the 2023-24
strategy with a call for evidence and also by engaging with the
enforcement bodies prior to submission.
As with previous reports, these recommendations are not formal
Government policy. We have worked with the Director, their
office, and the enforcement bodies to understand the
recommendations, and will carefully consider them moving forward.
