Written question asked by Fiona Mactaggart (Labour) on Wednesday, 21 October 1998, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Tuesday, 27 October 1998. It was answered by Mike O'Brien (Labour) on Tuesday, 27 October 1998 on behalf of the Home Office.

Home Office

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many employers have been (a) investigated, (b) charged, (c) prosecuted and (d) convicted under section 8(1) of the Asylum and Immigration Act 1996, to the latest convenient date. - Includes ref to White Paper 'Fairer, Faster and Firmer - A Modern Approach to Immigration and Asylum'.

Answer: Fiona Mactaggart: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many employers have been (a) investigated, (b) charged, (c) prosecuted and (d) convicted under section 8(1) of the Asylum and Immigration Act 1996, to the latest convenient date. [56464] Mr. Mike O'Brien: To date, the approach of the Immigration Service towards the enforcement of section 8 of the Asylum and Immigration Act 1996 has been that where, in the course of normal operational activity, an employer is found to have breached section 8, they will be advised of its provisions and issued with a warning letter. Among other things, this warns them that, if they continue to offend, consideration will be given to prosecution. There is no central record of the number of such letters which have been issued: and there have been no prosecutions to date. This will continue to be our normal approach. However, as we made clear in the White Paper "Fairer, Faster and Firmer--A Modern Approach to Immigration and Asylum", where there is evidence of organised racketeering and the exploitation of vulnerable groups of overseas workers, we will encourage the early referral of the case to the prosecuting authorities.

Secondary information