Immigration Bill (HL Bill 109)

A

BILL

[AS AMENDED ON REPORT]

TO

Make provision about the law on immigration and asylum; to make provision
about access to services, facilities, licences and work by reference to
immigration status; to make provision about the enforcement of certain
legislation relating to the labour market; to make provision about language
requirements for public sector workers; to make provision about fees for
passports and civil registration; and for connected purposes.

Be it enacted by the Queen’s most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and
consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present
Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:—

Part 1 Labour market and illegal working

CHAPTER 1 Labour market

5Director of Labour Market Enforcement

1 Director of Labour Market Enforcement

(1) The Secretary of State must appoint a person as the Director of Labour Market
Enforcement (referred to in this Chapter as “the Director”).

(2) The Director is to hold office in accordance with the terms of his or her
10appointment.

(3) The functions of the Director are exercisable on behalf of the Crown.

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(4) The Secretary of State must provide the Director with such staff, goods,
services, accommodation and other resources as the Secretary of State
considers the Director needs for the exercise of his or her functions.

(5) The Secretary of State must—

(a) 5pay the Director such expenses, remuneration and allowances, and

(b) pay or make provision for the payment of such pension to or in respect
of the Director,

as may be provided for by or under the terms of the Director’s appointment.

2 Labour market enforcement strategy

(1) 10The Director must before the beginning of each financial year prepare a labour
market enforcement strategy for that year and submit it to the Secretary of State
for approval.

(2) A labour market enforcement strategy (referred to in this Chapter as a
“strategy”) is a document which—

(a) 15sets out the Director’s assessment of—

(i) the scale and nature of non-compliance in the labour market
during the year before the one to which the strategy relates, and

(ii) the likely scale and nature of such non-compliance during the
year to which the strategy relates and the following two years,

(b) 20contains a proposal for the year to which the strategy relates setting
out—

(i) how labour market enforcement functions should be exercised,

(ii) the education, training and research activities the Secretary of
State, and any other person by whom, or by whose officers,
25labour market enforcement functions are exercisable, should
undertake or facilitate in connection with those functions,

(iii) the information, or descriptions of information, that should be
provided to the Director for the purposes of his or her functions
by any person by whom, or by whose officers, labour market
30enforcement functions are exercisable, and

(iv) the form and manner in which, and frequency with which, that
information should be provided,

(c) sets out the activities the Director proposes to undertake during the
year to which the strategy relates in the exercise of his or her functions
35under section 8, and

(d) deals with such other matters as the Director considers appropriate.

(3) The proposal mentioned in paragraph (b) of subsection (2) must, in particular,
set out how the funding available for the purposes of the functions and
activities mentioned in sub-paragraphs (i) and (ii) of that paragraph should be
40allocated.

(4) The Director may at any time prepare a revised strategy and submit it to the
Secretary of State for approval.

(5) The Secretary of State may approve a strategy either with or without
modifications (but a modification may not relate to the assessment described
45in paragraph (a) of subsection (2)).

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(6) Any person by whom labour market enforcement functions are exercisable
during a year to which a strategy approved under this section relates must, in
exercising those functions, have regard to the strategy.

3 Non-compliance in the labour market etc: interpretation

(1) 5For the purposes of this Chapter each of the following constitutes “non-
compliance in the labour market”—

(a) the commission of a labour market offence;

(b) failure to comply with the requirement under section 1 of the National
Minimum Wage Act 1998 (workers to be paid at least national
10minimum wage);

(c) failure to pay any financial penalty required to be paid by a notice of
underpayment served under section 19 of that Act (see section 19A of
that Act);

(d) breach of a condition of a licence granted under section 7 of the
15Gangmasters (Licensing) Act 2004;

(e) failure to comply with any other requirement imposed by or under any
enactment and which is prescribed by regulations made by the
Secretary of State.

(2) In this Chapter “labour market enforcement functions” means—

(a) 20any function of the Secretary of State in connection with prohibition
orders made under section 3A of the Employment Agencies Act 1973,

(b) any function of an officer acting for the purposes of that Act (see section
8A of that Act),

(c) any function of an officer acting for the purposes of the National
25Minimum Wage Act 1998 (see section 13 of that Act),

(d) any function of the Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority
conferred by section 1(2)(a) to (c) of the Gangmasters (Licensing) Act
2004,

(e) any function of an enforcement officer or a compliance officer acting for
30the purposes of that Act (see section 15 of that Act),

(f) any function of the Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority under
Part 2 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 (slavery and trafficking
prevention orders etc),

(g) any function of an officer of that Authority acting for the purposes of
35Part 1 or 2 of that Act (see sections 11A and 30A of that Act),

(h) any function of an enforcing authority under this Chapter,

(i) any function an officer has by virtue of section 26, and

(j) any other function prescribed by regulations made by the Secretary of
State.

(3) 40In this section “labour market offence” means—

(a) an offence under the Employment Agencies Act 1973 other than one
under section 9(4)(b) of that Act;

(b) an offence under the National Minimum Wage Act 1998;

(c) an offence under the Gangmasters (Licensing) Act 2004;

(d) 45an offence under section 1 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015;

(e) an offence under section 2 or 4 of that Act—

(i) which is committed in relation to a worker or a person seeking
work, or

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(ii) which is otherwise committed in circumstances where
subsection (2) of section 3 of that Act applies;

(f) an offence under section 30(1) or (2) of that Act which is committed in
relation to—

(i) 5an order which was made on the application of the
Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority, or

(ii) an order which was made under section 14 of that Act and
which falls within subsection (4) below;

(g) an offence under section 27;

(h) 10any other offence prescribed by regulations made by the Secretary of
State;

(i) an offence of attempting or conspiring to commit an offence mentioned
in paragraphs (a) to (h);

(j) an offence under Part 2 of the Serious Crime Act 2007 in relation to an
15offence so mentioned;

(k) an offence of inciting a person to commit an offence so mentioned;

(l) an offence of aiding, abetting, counselling or procuring the commission
of an offence so mentioned.

(4) An order made under section 14 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 falls within
20this subsection if—

(a) the order was made following—

(i) the conviction of the defendant of an offence mentioned in
subsection (3)(d), (e) or (i) to (l), or

(ii) a finding of a kind mentioned in section 14(1)(b) or (c) of that
25Act in connection with any such offence, and

(b) the prosecution resulted from an investigation conducted by a labour
abuse prevention officer (within the meaning of section 114B of the
Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984).

(5) In this section “worker” has the same meaning as in the Employment Rights
30Act 1996 (see section 230 of that Act) and the reference to a person seeking work
is to be read accordingly.

(6) In this section references to the Gangmasters (Licensing) Act 2004 are
references to that Act only so far as it applies in relation to England and Wales
and Scotland.

4 35Annual and other reports

(1) As soon as reasonably practicable after the end of each financial year in respect
of which the Secretary of State has approved a strategy under section 2, the
Director must submit to the Secretary of State an annual report for that year.

(2) An annual report must include—

(a) 40an assessment of the extent to which labour market enforcement
functions were exercised, and activities of the kind mentioned in
section 2(2)(b)(ii) were carried out, in accordance with the strategy
during the year to which the report relates,

(b) an assessment of the extent to which the strategy had an effect on the
45scale and nature of non-compliance in the labour market during that
year, and

(c) a statement of the activities the Director undertook during that year in
the exercise of his or her functions under section 8.

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(3) The Director must submit to the Secretary of State a report dealing with any
matter—

(a) which the Secretary of State has requested the Director to report on, or

(b) which a strategy approved by the Secretary of State under section 2
5states is a matter the Director proposes to report on,

and must do so as soon as reasonably practicable after the request is made or
the strategy is approved.

5 Publication of strategy and reports

(1) The Secretary of State must lay before Parliament—

(a) 10any strategy the Secretary of State approves under section 2, and

(b) any annual or other report the Secretary of State receives under section
4,

and must do so as soon as reasonably practicable after approving the strategy
or receiving the report.

(2) 15A document laid under subsection (1) must not contain material removed
under subsection (3).

(3) The Secretary of State may remove from a document to be laid under
subsection (1) any material the publication of which the Secretary of State
considers—

(a) 20would be against the interests of national security,

(b) might jeopardise the safety of any person in the United Kingdom, or

(c) might prejudice the investigation or prosecution of an offence under
the law of England and Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland.

6 Information gateways

(1) 25A person may disclose information to the Director or a relevant staff member
if the disclosure is made for the purposes of the exercise of any function of the
Director.

(2) Information obtained by the Director or a relevant staff member in connection
with the exercise of any function of the Director may be used by the Director or
30a relevant staff member in connection with the exercise of any other function
of the Director.

(3) The Director or a relevant staff member may disclose information obtained in
connection with the exercise of any function of the Director to a specified
person if the disclosure is made for the purposes of the exercise of any function
35of the specified person.

(4) “Specified person” means a person specified in Schedule 1 (persons to whom
Director etc may disclose information).

(5) The Secretary of State may by regulations amend Schedule 1.

(6) In this section, “relevant staff member” means a member of staff provided to
40the Director under section 1(4).

7 Information gateways: supplementary

(1) A disclosure of information which is authorised by section 6 does not breach—

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(a) an obligation of confidence owed by the person making the disclosure,
or

(b) any other restriction on the disclosure of information (however
imposed).

(2) 5But nothing in section 6 authorises the making of a disclosure which—

(a) contravenes the Data Protection Act 1998, or

(b) is prohibited by Part 1 of the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act
2000.

(3) Section 6 does not limit the circumstances in which information may be
10disclosed apart from that section.

(4) Section 6(1) does not authorise a person serving in an intelligence service to
disclose information to the Director or a relevant staff member.

But this does not affect the disclosures which such a person may make in
accordance with intelligence service disclosure arrangements.

(5) 15Intelligence service information may not be disclosed by the Director or a
relevant staff member without authorisation from the appropriate service
chief.

(6) If the Director or a relevant staff member has disclosed intelligence service
information to a person, that person may not further disclose that information
20without authorisation from the appropriate service chief.

(7) HMRC information may not be disclosed by the Director or a relevant staff
member without authorisation from HMRC Commissioners.

(8) If the Director or a relevant staff member has disclosed HMRC information to
a person, that person may not further disclose that information without
25authorisation from HMRC Commissioners.

(9) Subsections (7) and (8) do not apply to national minimum wage information.

(10) If a person contravenes subsection (7) or (8) by disclosing revenue and customs
information relating to a person whose identity—

(a) is specified in the disclosure, or

(b) 30can be deduced from it,

section 19 of the Commissioners for Revenue and Customs Act 2005 (wrongful
disclosure) applies in relation to that disclosure as it applies in relation to a
disclosure of such information in contravention of section 20(9) of that Act.

(11) In this section—

  • 35“appropriate service chief” means—

    (a)

    the Director-General of the Security Service (in the case of
    information obtained by the Director or a relevant staff member
    from that Service or a person acting on its behalf);

    (b)

    the Chief of the Secret Intelligence Service (in the case of
    40information so obtained from that Service or a person acting on
    its behalf);

    (c)

    the Director of GCHQ (in the case of information so obtained
    from GCHQ or a person acting on its behalf);

  • GCHQ” has the same meaning as in the Intelligence Services Act 1994;

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  • HMRC information” means information disclosed to the Director or a
    relevant staff member under section 6 by HMRC Commissioners or a
    person acting on behalf of HMRC Commissioners;

  • “intelligence service” means—

    (a)

    5the Security Service;

    (b)

    the Secret Intelligence Service;

    (c)

    GCHQ;

  • “intelligence service disclosure arrangements” means—

    (a)

    arrangements made by the Director-General of the Security
    10Service under section 2(2)(a) of the Security Service Act 1989
    about the disclosure of information by that Service,

    (b)

    arrangements made by the Chief of the Intelligence Service
    under section 2(2)(a) of the Intelligence Services Act 1994 about
    the disclosure of information by that Service, and

    (c)

    15arrangements made by the Director of GCHQ under section
    4(2)(a) of that Act about the disclosure of information by
    GCHQ;

  • “intelligence service information” means information obtained from an
    intelligence service or a person acting on behalf of an intelligence
    20service;

  • “national minimum wage information” means information obtained by
    an officer in the course of acting—

    (a)

    for the purposes of the National Minimum Wage Act 1998 (see
    section 13 of that Act), or

    (b)

    25by virtue of section 26(2);

  • “relevant staff member” has the same meaning as in section 6;

  • “revenue and customs information relating to a person” has the meaning
    given in section 19(2) of the Commissioners for Revenue and Customs
    Act 2005.

8 30Information hub

(1) The Director must gather, store, process, analyse and disseminate information
relating to non-compliance in the labour market.

(2) The Director may request any person by whom, or by whose officers, labour
market enforcement functions are exercisable to provide the Director with any
35non-compliance information specified or of a description specified in the
request.

(3) “Non-compliance information” means information relating to non-compliance
in the labour market which the Director considers would facilitate the exercise
of any of his or her functions.

(4) 40A person by whom, or by whose officers, labour market enforcement functions
are exercisable may request the Director to provide the person, or an officer of
the person, with any enforcement information specified or of a description
specified in the request.

(5) “Enforcement information” means information which the person making the
45request considers would facilitate the exercise of any labour market
enforcement function of the person or of an officer of the person.

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(6) A person who receives a request under this section must respond to it in
writing within a reasonable period.

9 Restriction on exercising functions in relation to individual cases

(1) The Director must not in exercising any function make any recommendation in
5relation to an individual case.

(2) Subsection (1) does not prevent the Director considering individual cases and
drawing conclusions about them for the purpose of, or in the context of,
considering a general issue.

Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority

10 10Renaming of Gangmasters Licensing Authority

(1) The Gangmasters Licensing Authority is renamed the Gangmasters and
Labour Abuse Authority.

(2) In any enactment passed before the day on which this section comes into force,
and in any instrument or other document made before that day, references to
15the Gangmasters Licensing Authority are to be read, in relation to any time on
or after that day, as references to the Gangmasters and Labour Abuse
Authority.

11 Functions in relation to labour market

(1) Schedule 2 (functions in relation to labour market) has effect.

(2) 20The Secretary of State may by regulations confer other functions on the
Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority or its officers.

12 PACE powers in England and Wales for labour abuse prevention officers

(1) After section 114A of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 insert—

114B Application of Act to labour abuse prevention officers

(1) 25The Secretary of State may by regulations apply any provision of this
Act which relates to investigations of offences conducted by police
officers to investigations of labour market offences conducted by
labour abuse prevention officers.

(2) The regulations may apply provisions of this Act with any
30modifications specified in the regulations.

(3) In this section “labour abuse prevention officer” means an officer of the
Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority who—

(a) falls within subsection (4), and

(b) is authorised (whether generally or specifically) by the
35Secretary of State for the purposes of this section.

(4) An officer of the Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority falls within
this subsection if he or she is—

(a) acting for the purposes of the Employment Agencies Act 1973
(see section 8A of that Act),

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(b) acting for the purposes of the National Minimum Wage Act
1998 (see section 13 of that Act),

(c) acting for the purposes of the Gangmasters (Licensing) Act 2004
as an enforcement officer within the meaning of section 15 of
5that Act,

(d) acting for the purposes of Part 1 or 2 of the Modern Slavery Act
2015 (see sections 11A and 30A of that Act), or

(e) acting for any other purpose prescribed in regulations made by
the Secretary of State.

(5) 10The investigations for the purposes of which provisions of this Act may
be applied by regulations under this section include investigations of
offences committed, or suspected of having been committed, before the
coming into force of the regulations or of this section.

(6) Regulations under this section are to be made by statutory instrument.

(7) 15Regulations under this section may make—

(a) different provision for different purposes;

(b) provision which applies generally or for particular purposes;

(c) incidental, supplementary, consequential, transitional or
transitory provision or savings.

(8) 20Regulations under subsection (4)(e) may, in particular, make such
provision amending, repealing or revoking any enactment as the
Secretary of State considers appropriate in consequence of any
provision made by the regulations.

(9) A statutory instrument containing regulations under subsection (4)(e)
25may not be made unless a draft of the instrument has been laid before,
and approved by a resolution of, each House of Parliament.

(10) Any other statutory instrument containing regulations under this
section is subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution of either
House of Parliament.

(11) 30In this section—

  • “enactment” includes an enactment contained in subordinate
    legislation within the meaning of the Interpretation Act 1978;

  • “labour market offence” has the meaning given in section 3 of the
    Immigration Act 2016.”

(2) 35In section 18 of the Gangmasters (Licensing) Act 2004 (obstruction of officers),
in subsection (1)(a), after “this Act” insert “or functions conferred by virtue of
section 114B of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 (application of that
Act to Authority officers)”.

13 Relationship with other agencies: requests for assistance

(1) 40The Gangmasters (Licensing) Act 2004 is amended as follows.

(2) Before section 23 (but after the italic heading before it) insert—

22A Relationship with other agencies: requests for assistance

(1) The Authority may request any of the following to provide assistance
to the Authority or any of its officers—