HC Deb 17 July 2003 vol 409 cc553-5W
Mr. Luff

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will make a statement on the progress of Operation Gangmaster. [126734]

Mr. Pond

Operation Gangmaster began in 1998 and, following disruption caused by the outbreak of foot and mouth disease, was re-launched in April 2002. Operation Gangmaster brings together representatives from a range of Government Departments and Agencies and, where appropriate, the police to tackle gangmasters operating illegal practices. This group operates in two ways.

The first function is to gather and collate evidence on gangmasters operating in the informal economy. This intelligence enables us to ensure that specialist gangmaster compliance activity is better targeted and more effective.

The second function of Operation Gangmaster is to organise specific operations, using appropriate compliance staff drawn from the relevant Departments and Agencies, to tackle particular gangmasters known to be involved in illegal practices. These operations are lead by the Department or Agency that has the major interest in the individual case.

Operation Gangmaster does not replace the normal compliance activity taken by each Department or Agency. However, it does provide a co-ordinated approach to tackling gangmasters that may be involved in a range of illegal activity such as breaches of immigration or employment law; tax offences and benefit fraud.

Each Department and Agency maintains their own statistics on results of operations. Over the last year Department for Work and Pensions officials have imposed sanctions on 138 people who were involved in benefit fraud, made 18,000 adjustments to benefit entitlements and identified overpayments of benefit in 235 cases.

Mr. Luff

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to his answer of 15 July 2003, ref 124888, if he will list the Government Departments and agencies in the Gangmaster Working Group. [126989]

Mr. Pond

Lord Grabiner recommended that Government Departments should work together in tackling informal economy issues. A Grabiner steering group (now called the Informal Economy Steering Group) was set up to promote Joint Working across Government on informal economy issues. Lower level working groups support the steering group in operational initiatives. One such initiative is Operation Gangmaster, which operates in nine regional forums. The following Departments are directly involved

  • The Department for Work and Pensions (lead Department/Agency for Operation Gangmaster and producers of all Operations).
  • Her Majesty's Custom and Excise (Chair of the Working Group and Secretariat).
  • Inland Revenue.
  • National Asylum Support Service.
  • Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.
  • United Kingdom Immigration Service.

Other Departments involved on an ad hoc basis include the following;

  • Health and Safety Executive.
  • Social Services.
  • Uniform and Plain Clothes Police Officers including Special Branch etc
  • Scottish Executive for Rural Affairs.

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