§ Mr. LyonsTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the Government are doing to combat illegal working practices and how many companies have been prosecuted since 1997 for such practices. [85385]
§ Malcolm WicksI have been asked to reply.
The Department for Work and Pensions is focusing increasingly on fraud where dishonest employers abuse the system, for example by not paying national insurance contributions or by paying artificially low wages to workers who continue to claim out-of-work benefits.
We have put in place a programme targeting these employers and have specialist teams working together with the Inland Revenue and HM Customs and Excise to tackle employer fraud, including Joint Shadow Economy Teams. In addition we have since 1 May 2002 had powers under the Fraud Act to impose a financial 794W penalty on employers who abuse the system instead of prosecuting them. This new power, together with the work we are doing jointly with the taxation Departments, marks a step change in our approach to those employers who would collude with their employees in cheating the tax or benefit systems.
Information on the number of employers prosecuted specifically for collusion is not available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.