MP, Labour’s Shadow Home
Secretary, responding to the publication of damning
reports from the former Independent Chief Inspector of Borders
and Immigration, said:
"These inspection reports are scandalous. They expose a
Conservative government which has lost control of our borders and
our border security.
“From allowing high security risk flights to swan into the
country with zero in-person checks, despite risks from drugs,
guns and people smuggling, through to rampant labour exploitation
in the social care visa.
“Even now ministers are hiding the true scale of the flaws,
redacting much of the vital information, and slipping the reports
out when Parliament can’t respond.
“The public have a right to get answers. We need to know how many
high-risk flights arriving at City airport were not checked in
person as they should have been. People deserve to know their
borders are secure and safe. A Labour Government will boost our
border security and fix the Tories’ chaos.”
Ends
Notes:
- Newly published reports from the former Independent Chief
Inspector of Borders and Immigration expose a series of shocking
failures in our border security:
- “This spot check inspection identifies a significant risk
to security at the border at London City Airport (LCY). It
highlights failings at a local, regional, and national level in
Border Force’s response to general aviation (GA). This needs to
be addressed by the Home Office as a matter of
urgency.”
- “Guidance designed to keep the country safe directs that
all GA flights identified as high risk are met by Border Force
staff, except in exceptional circumstances. At LCY, only
[redacted] were met in 2023. Guidance also directs that a third
of low-risk flights are met. Only [redacted] were met at LCY in
2023. This is shocking and something is clearly very
wrong”.
- “This report details the shocking results of the policy’s
implementation, including the case of 275 certificates of
sponsorship being granted to a care home that did not exist,
and 1,234 certificates being granted to a company that stated
it had only four employees when given a licence. In just these
two examples, up to 1,500 people could have arrived in this
country and been encouraged by a risk of hardship or
destitution to work outside the conditions of their visa. While
the inspection does not detail the extent of this abuse, my
inspectors encountered migrants with care visas working
illegally in two out of eight enforcement visits they observed
during my inspection of illegal working enforcement (August to
October 2023)”.
Labour’s plan to tackle exploitation in the social care visa:
-
Tough new rules on sponsors of social care
visas, including restricting the use of repayment
clauses for relocation and visa costs, and requiring compliance
with DHSC rules on international recruitment as a condition of
gaining a sponsor licence.
-
Stronger enforcement against exploitative
agencies, through a review of existing sponsor licence
holders in social care and a new single enforcement body for
employment rights and protections to ensure greater
coordination in the face of complex labour market challenges
and investigate and bring bad actors to justice.
-
Serious reforms to the social care workforce,
including the introduction of a National Care Service, a
workforce plan, and the rollout of a Fair Pay Agreement in
adult social care empowering workers, the trade unions that
represent them, and employers to negotiate a sector wide floor
for better terms and conditions.
