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Migrant Domestic Workers (Visas)

I will make a point about the rule of law applying to everyone, which has been brought home to me by the force of this debate. We know that in the UK, exploitation of labour is common in certain spheres—agriculture, construction, contract cleaning, the care sector and, indeed, the domestic sector. There have been many tragic examples in addition to the terrible and chilling ones that we have heard this morning, such as the Chinese cockle pickers at Morecambe bay and the lorry full of Chinese workers at Folkestone. We must become more effective across the board at combating that. Reference has frequently been made during the debate to the fact that the Government gave themselves two years after introduction of the points-based system to examine the matter to see what was happening, and I understand that they are gathering facts and research. I hope that the Minister will give us an update on what evidence he has gathered. In terms of whether the current visa system could be integrated into the points-based system, I am not entirely sure how widespread the evidence will be because, with the rest of tier 3 at zero, there will be no obvious comparators. However, I assume that the Government have collected hard evidence on the incidence and possible patterns of abuse, and how best it can be prevented. I look forward to hearing that. The debate has brought home the importance of hard evidence. I know how difficult it is to get it when many of those who are most capable of giving evidence are prevented from doing so by understandable fears. The exchange between the hon. Member for Birmingham, Yardley (John Hemming), and the hon. Member for Reading, West, was instructive because the debate proceeded on the assumption that what we are seeing, particularly in the diplomatic area, is the tip of the iceberg. The hon. Member for Birmingham, Yardley, rightly said that we all assume from other cases of exploitation and abuse that we hear about in our surgeries that there are many more people out there in that situation than approach their MP or a pressure group about it, but we do not know that. As has been said, the numbers are very small. A few hundred visas are issued every year and a few dozen people approach their MP or a pressure group every year. To proceed in such circumstance with the assumption that we are seeing the tip of the iceberg and not the iceberg itself might be wrong. I am not saying that it is wrong, but we do not know, and we should accept that we do not know. Trying to make policy on the assumption that we are seeing the tip of a large iceberg is dangerous. I hope that the Minister will tell us that his Department has obtained evidence of absolute numbers, and of the percentage of domestic workers who are brought here and then abused—a percentage on which the Department can reliably base future policy.