§ Mr. BoswellTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many staff are currently engaged on enforcement of the Agricultural Wages Order; how many inspections were carried out; how many breaches of the Order were discovered; what was the annual value of wages below the minimum rates recovered for farmworkers in each of the last three years; and if he will make a statement. [27183]
685W
§ Mr. Morley[holding answer 3 February 1998]: MAFF Regional Service Centres (RSCs) committed about five staff years work to all aspects of the Agricultural Wages Order, including enforcement, in 1996–97. The information requested for the last 3 years is as follows:
Number of inspections1 Number of prosecutions for breaches of the order Arrears of pay recovered £ 1994 869 6 16,028 1995 348 2 29,062 1996 38 3 6,811 1 Test (random) inspections ended in 1995 as they had revealed no breaches for some time. Inspections subsequently are only made as a follow up to complaints or other reports. 2 One case went to appeal which was heard in 1996. As a result the arrears of pay recovered in 1995 was reduced to £3,048. The enforcement provisions in the National Minimum Wage Bill, which it is proposed should apply for Agricultural Minimum Wage purposes, will strengthen the effectiveness of enforcement.