My Lords, the regulations were laid before Parliament on 9 June 2014. They revoke and replace the Gangmasters (Licensing Authority) Regulations 2005 and reform the governance of the Gangmasters Licensing Authority (GLA) by reducing the size of the board from its current 29 members to nine members and enabling board members to be recruited through open competition rather than by nomination from a restricted set of organisations.
The GLA was set up in 2004 to protect vulnerable and exploited workers after the tragic deaths of 23 Chinese cockle pickers in Morecambe Bay. The authority licenses businesses which provide workers to the farming, food processing and shellfish-gathering sectors to make sure they meet the employment standards required by law, and carries out inspections and enforcement activity. Since 2004 the GLA has issued over 2,500 licences and initiated the successful prosecution of 70 individuals. Since 2010, the GLA has identified £1.2 million in proceeds of crime and protected over 5,000 workers, recovering some £4 million for victims. The GLA became a Home Office non-departmental public body on 9 April 2014, transferring from Defra.
The regulations before noble Lords today reflect one of the key recommendations of the Red Tape Challenge review of the GLA’s operations and implement a measure announced in a Written Ministerial Statement presented to Parliament in May 2012 by the noble Lord, Lord Taylor, when he was Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at Defra. The planned reform of the board was a key recommendation of the triennial review of the GLA, which reported in April 2014.
When the GLA was established in 2004, the main concern underlying the design of its governance structures was to encourage a high level of participation from the widest possible cross-section of industry stakeholders in order to secure support for the introduction of the licensing regime. This resulted in a very large, representative board with places reserved—subject to ministerial appointment—to specific organisations named in statute, as well as a number of ex-officio places for government departments and agencies with operational interests in common with the GLA. This approach succeeded in helping the GLA establish itself as a well respected and effective regulator. However, it was recognised that the governance structures enshrined in the 2005 regulations were intended to serve the authority during its early years of operation, and that they should be reviewed to ensure that they continued to enable effective leadership.
The Red Tape Challenge review of the GLA concluded that its developing role in tackling worker exploitation and criminal activity demands more focused leadership, and the review recommended the introduction of a smaller board to provide the authority with clear strategic oversight and direction. Reforming the board in the way provided for in these regulations will enable the GLA to better adapt to the changing circumstances that it faces. Strong and effective engagement with the sectors that the GLA regulates remains important. This will be ensured through improved advisory groups reporting to the main board, building on the current system of sector liaison groups. I commend these regulations to the Committee.