Meeting of the Parliament 21 January 2016
No, I will not. Christian Allard has had his go. I will make some progress.
I am confident that all of us agree that migrant workers are particularly vulnerable to labour market exploitation and may find themselves living and working in dangerous and degrading conditions. We need to accept that labour market exploitation is increasingly an organised criminal activity that fuels illegal immigration. Government regulators that enforce workers’ rights need reform and better co-ordination to tackle that problem. The creation of a new statutory director of labour market enforcement to provide a central intelligence hub and facilitate the allocation of resources across the different regulators is therefore surely welcome. It has already been welcomed by Labour’s shadow Home Secretary, Andy Burnham MP.
The bill makes it easier to bring prosecutions against employers where they knowingly employ illegal workers and to seize the earnings of illegal workers under proceeds of crime legislation. Powers will also be granted to immigration officers to close business premises for up to 48 hours, or even longer in certain cases where the employer has previously been given a civil penalty or has been prosecuted for employing illegal workers.
Immigration officers and the police will have a new power to search for and seize UK driving licences that are in the possession of people who are not lawfully in the UK. Banks and building societies will have to perform periodic checks and notify the Home Office when they identify a person who has been disqualified from holding a current account by reason of their immigration status.
On private rented accommodation, the bill creates four offences to target rogue landlords and agents who deliberately and repeatedly fail to comply with the right to rent scheme or fail to evict individuals whom they know or have reasonable cause to believe are disqualified from renting as a result of their immigration status.
I recognise that creating an immigration system that is fair, efficient and fit for purpose is a big challenge, not just for the UK but for every western democracy, as we face severe international disputes that are pushing up migrant numbers and deal with organised crime and international human-trafficking gangs.
The Immigration Bill is part of the UK Government’s work towards meeting that challenge, and its proportionate and practical measures have my support. I urge the Scottish Government to continue to engage fully with the UK Government on the subject. Many of the bill’s fundamental aims are, I believe, shared by both Governments and by people across Scotland and the rest of the UK.
12:50