Legal background
- The new Director of Labour Market Enforcement will prepare an enforcement strategy that concerns the enforcement of several legal schemes. These include enforcement of breaches of the Employment Agencies Act 1973, the National Minimum Wage Act 1998, the Gangmasters (Licensing) Act 2004 so far as it relates to England, Wales and Scotland, and sections 1, 2 and 4 of the 2015 Act.
- The new illegal working offence criminalises those who work and who are subject to immigration control and have no right to work in the United Kingdom. It builds on existing immigration offences that are found in section 24 of the 1971 Act. The offence of employing an illegal worker in section 21 of the 2006 Act is also amended. The illegal working measures also amend the Licensing Act 2003 ("the 2003 Act").
- The Act measures on access to services within Part 2 are mainly an extension of a previous provision made in 2014 Act. Chapter 1 of Part 3 of the 2014 Act created the right to rent scheme and the new measures in the Act on tenancies build on this. The driving measures build on sections 46 and 47 of the 2014 Act which ensure that people who are not lawfully resident in the United Kingdom are not entitled to United Kingdom driving licences. The bank accounts measure builds on section 40 of the 2014 Act which prohibits disqualified persons from opening accounts.
- The amendments and expansion to the enforcement powers of immigration officers in the Act principally concern the search for and transfer of evidence. Immigration officer powers are largely found within Schedule 2 to the 1971 Act. The bail and tagging measures in the Act will also consolidate the parts of Schedules 2 and 3 to the 1971 Act that relate to temporary admission, temporary release and bail.
- The immigration appeals system is found within Part 5 of the 2002 Act, which has been amended several times, most recently by the 2014 Act. The Act further amends this legislation.
- The asylum support system is found within the 1999 Act, as amended. Existing limitations on local authority support for certain migrants is found in Schedule 3 to the 2002 Act. The Act amends this legislation.
- The measure creating a civil penalty regime relating to airport control areas is concerned with enforcement of paragraph 26 of Schedule 2to the 1971 Act where there is already a criminal sanction under section 27(b)(iv) of that Act. The maritime powers measure, extending the powers of immigration officers to UK territorial waters is based on similar powers in Part 3 of the 2015 Act that are aimed at tackling modern slavery at sea.
- The current immigration fees framework is contained in Part 6 of the 2014 Act. The immigration skills charge builds on the existing fees powers in the 2014 Act. The civil registration fees measures amend the following existing legislation: the Births and Deaths Act 1953; the Marriage Act 1949; the Civil Partnership Act 2004; the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act 2013; the Registration Service Act 1953 and make a number of consequential and related amendments to other legislation. The passport fees measures will add to the framework set out under the Consular Fees Act 1980.
