Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent assessment she has made of the level of labour exploitation in garment factories in the UK; and if she will make a statement.

The Government is committed to tackling labour exploitation and protecting workers’ rights. We have taken a number of steps to deal with the issues in the textiles sector and take this issue very seriously. In light of the very concerning recent allegations of illegal and unsafe working conditions for garment workers in Leicester, a multi-agency Taskforce, led by the Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority (GLAA) has been established to enable the relevant enforcement bodies to work together at pace, to take appropriate action against unscrupulous employers and individuals who exploit workers.

We are also working in partnership with the industry through the Apparel and General Merchandise Public and Private Protocol, a partnership between enforcement bodies and industry partners - including, the British Retail Consortium, UK Fashion and the Textile Association – aimed at tackling all forms of labour exploitation in the garment industry. Given the serious nature of the allegations in Leicester and the spectrum of labour market non-compliance issues that have been raised, it is imperative that we have a strong evidence base to inform the options we are considering to protect vulnerable workers and drive up standards. The Government will continue to work closely with the taskforce to consider the most appropriate measures to tackle labour exploitation in this sector.

The Government is committed to improving enforcement of employment rights. We have announced the intention to introduce a Single Enforcement Body, which will provide a clearer route for workers to raise a complaint and get support, enabling more coordinated enforcement action and the use of pooled intelligence to better target proactive enforcement. The public consultation on the establishment of the new Single Enforcement Body included questions on extending licensing to other high-risk sectors. We will publish a response to this consultation in due course.