The maximum impact of additional services calls at Swinderby is 2 minutes onto the journey times; Midlands Connect are currently developing a proposal for line speed improvements between Lincoln and Nottingham, as part of their role in promoting strategic transport investment across the Midlands region. This aims to reduce journey times for passenger services by up to two minutes between Lincoln and Newark, although even with these journey time savings and the removal of Swinderby calls, the relative competitiveness of journeys by train versus car would remain broadly unchanged.

We are engaging with the sector to understand the systemic issues that lead to non-compliance and what measures could be used to tackle them. I have met with the British Retail Consortium to discuss the issues in the sector and will be holding a roundtable with their members to further discuss potential solutions. We also look forward to seeing the outcomes of work between the enforcement agencies and retailers as part of the work of the Apparel and General Merchandise Public/Private Protocol, a partnership between the enforcement agencies and industry partners, including NGOs, sector bodies and brands, aimed at tackling labour exploitation in the garment industry.

Exploiting vulnerable workers for commercial gain is despicable and the Government will not stand for it. The Government is determined that everyone who is entitled to the National Minimum Wage (NMW) receives it.

All businesses, irrespective of size or business sector, are responsible for paying the correct minimum wage to their staff; and consequences for not complying with paying NMW can include fines of 200% of the arrears, public naming and, for the worst offences, criminal prosecution.

HMRC take seriously and review all complaints from workers referred by the Acas helpline, or received via the online complaints form, and investigate as appropriate. If anyone thinks they are not receiving at least the minimum wage, they can contact Acas, in confidence, on 0300 123 1100 or submit a query online using the link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/pay-and-work-rights-complaints(opens in a new tab) .

HMRC NMW has undertaken joint operations with partner agencies in Leicester for a number of years and have historically investigated more than 150 textile businesses, including multiple employers operating in Leicester; recovering over £215,000 in wage arrears for over 400 workers and issued over £325,000 in penalties. HMRC NMW has also opened a significant number of investigations in Leicester since 1 July 2020.

HMRC continues to take proactive steps in this industry: we have written to over 18,000 workers in the textile sector flagging their entitlement to minimum wage, common causes of underpayment and encouraging confidential reporting of employers, and have written to over 2,500 employers in the sector highlighting the main risks which lead to NMW underpayment.

The British Retail Consortium has alleged that workers in the Leicester textile sector are underpaid by £2.1m per week. Previous and ongoing HMRC investigations have not identified non-compliance with NMW on this scale.

We continue to work closely with industry bodies and would welcome any evidence they have in support of the findings by the British Retail Consortium.

HSE have carried out 296 Covid19 specific interventions in respect of textile factories, in Leicester, since April 2020. Premises do not pass and fail, as such, however we can confirm that enforcement action has been taken in respect of 54 premises. Action taken includes a mixture of enforcement notices and letters, in addition to written advice, which were follow up to ensure compliance.

Under Section 20 of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, HSE Inspectors have a range of powers that they can use to investigate reported incidents and concerns, including those relating to implementation of Covid 19 safety measures in factories in Leicester.

Inspectors have the right to enter premises to carry out their functions at any reasonable time. They have the right to ask questions, to examine documents and to take copies. They also have the right to talk to employees and safety representatives, as required.

Inspectors have the power to issue Improvement Notices where they identify a breach of health and safety legislation or to issue Prohibition Notices where they identify a risk of serious personal injury. They also have powers to institute proceedings in Court where there has been a serious breach of health and safety legislation.

Throughout the pandemic, HSE has actively engaged with businesses, through site visits and phone calls, investigating reports from those raising concerns, assessing compliance with health and safety law, and using guidance such as that published about social distancing from the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/working-safely-during-coronavirus-covid-19) to ensure businesses are adhering to requirements. HSE has also provided support to local public health bodies who lead on dealing with outbreaks.

HSE continues to regulate in areas of highest risk and industries where concerns of Covid-19 transmission are greatest.

Following the outcome of Spending Review 2020, capital spending plans for 2021/22 will be subject to a detailed financial planning exercise and finalised in due course. Any opportunities to bid for funding will be communicated when available.

HMRC enforce the National Minimum and National Living Wage (NMW) in line with the law and policy set out by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS).

All businesses, irrespective of size or sector, are responsible for paying the correct minimum wage to their staff. Consequences for not complying with paying NMW can include penalties of 200% of the arrears, public naming and, for the worst offences, criminal prosecution.

Breaches of NMW legislation are normally a civil matter, but the most serious cases involving obstruction, falsifying of documents by, for example, creating a second set of ‘compliant records’ or wilful failure to pay workers the minimum wage that form part of a pattern of wider criminality may be referred to HMRC’s Fraud Investigation Service and subsequently to the Crown Prosecution Service who decide whether or not to prosecute.

Since 2012-13, HMRC’s NMW team has investigated 150 textile trade employers (59 employers in Leicester), recovering over £215,000 in wage arrears for over 400 workers and issued over £325,000 of penalties to employers.

As a result of the widespread allegations about labour exploitation in Leicester this year, a new multi-agency taskforce (Operation Tacit) led by the Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority (GLAA) has been set up to bring together the enforcement bodies (HMRC, Employment Agencies Standards Inspectorate (BEIS), Leicestershire Police, National Crime Agency, Leicester City Council, Department for Work and Pensions and Home Office Immigration Enforcement).

Across tax and the NMW, HMRC have a significant number of live investigations involving businesses in the textile sector (over 90 NMW investigations and over 30 tax investigations), a large majority of which relate to Leicester. In 2019/20 HMRC completed 25 separate investigations into the VAT affairs of businesses in the textile trade in Leicester alone and in doing so recovered more than £2 million of tax that would otherwise have been lost and facilitated 21 director disqualifications relating to the textile sector.

HMRC are also taking steps to counteract those seeking to abuse the COVID-19 support schemes. In line with other “payment-out” regimes, HMRC undertake pre-payment authentication and risking to identify and block fraudulent claims. HMRC also carry out proportionate risk-based post-payment compliance checks to test the accuracy of claims they receive. HMRC are able to retrospectively audit all aspects of the COVID-19 schemes, with scope to claw back fraudulent or inaccurate claims, applying their existing compliance approaches.

HMRC take seriously and review all complaints from workers referred by the Acas helpline, or received via the online complaints form, and investigate as appropriate. If anyone thinks they are not receiving at least the minimum wage, they can contact Acas, in confidence, on 0300 123 1100 or submit a query online using the link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/pay-and-work-rights-complaints.

As a result of the allegations of labour exploitation in the textile industry in Leicester, a multi-agency taskforce led by the Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority (GLAA) has been set up to bring together the enforcement bodies to continue to work together to secure robust intelligence to enable appropriate enforcement activity. HMRC’s National Minimum Wage team are active participants in the Leicester Taskforce and are attending visits to textile business in Leicester. They have also set up a new dedicated team to investigate Leicester textile businesses and other potential non-compliance textile hotspots across the UK. HMRC are undertaking outreach activities with local groups in Leicester designed to promote awareness of National Minimum Wage rights for workers, and support employers and agency partners in Leicester. This includes distributing multi-lingual advice leaflets for workers, writing directly to both textile workers and employers, and a bespoke webinar for textile sector employers.

My Rt. Hon. Friend the Home Secretary has written to Boohoo setting out her expectation that the company demonstrates long-term commitment to enhancing the protections for workers and preventing exploitation in its supply chains. The Home Secretary has said that she was deeply concerned by the allegations against Boohoo and expects the company to fully cooperate with law enforcement agencies and implement the commitments they have made after the Levitt Review. The GLAA has established a constructive working dialogue with Boohoo to help tackle labour exploitation in the wider textiles industry and they have subsequently begun providing information to help inform enforcement activity.

HMRC have a range of enforcement tools that they can use to tackle minimum wage offences, including issuing notices of underpayment, recovering arrears for workers, issuing penalties to employers and, in the most serious cases, prosecutions. While we cannot comment on individual cases, HMRC have a number of open investigations in the Leicester textiles sector and will take appropriate enforcement action where non-compliance is found. Since 2012/13, HMRC have recovered over £215,000 in wage arrears for 411 textile workers in the UK and issued over £325,000 in corresponding penalties to employers.

As a result of the allegations of labour exploitation in Leicester, a new multi-agency taskforce led by the GLAA has been set up to bring together the enforcement bodies to continue to work together to secure robust intelligence to enable appropriate enforcement activity. It consists of: HMRC National Minimum Wage; Employment Agency Standards Inspectorate (BEIS); Leicestershire Police; National Crime Agency; Leicester City Council; Department for Work and Pensions and Immigration Enforcement (Home Office).

HMRC’s National Minimum Wage team are active participants in the Leicester Taskforce and are attending visits to textile businesses in Leicester. They have also set up a new dedicated team to investigate Leicester textile businesses and other potential non-compliance textile hotspots across the UK. Where appropriate, these cases will be investigated with HMRC tax colleagues and taskforce partners. While we cannot comment on individual cases, HMRC have a number of open investigations in the textiles industry in Leicester. Where non-compliance is found, they will take appropriate enforcement action. This can include issuing notices of underpayment, recovering arrears for workers, issuing penalties to employers and, in the most serious cases, prosecutions. Since 2012/13, HMRC have recovered over £215,000 in wage arrears for 411 textile workers in the UK and issued over £325,000 in corresponding penalties to employers.

HMRC are also undertaking outreach activities with local groups in Leicester designed to promote awareness of National Minimum Wage rights for workers, and support employers and agency partners in Leicester. This includes distributing multi-lingual advice leaflets for workers, writing directly to both textile workers and employers, and a bespoke webinar for textile sector employers.

Following Network Rail’s publication of the Strategic Advice for improving capacity in the Leicester area, they are working on a business case for a suite of interventions which could deliver the enhancements required in the area. Quadruple-tracking is one of the options that Network Rail is considering. Network Rail is producing a Strategic Outline Business Case for the first part of the scheme which we expect to receive by Summer 2021.

Where restrictions were imposed in Leicester and in other areas, extra funding was made available to support communication and engagement, including translating material into all locally relevant languages. Over £100,000 was made available to local voluntary and community organisations and faith-based groups that they could bid for. Black, Asian and minority ethnic communities were particularly supported by the fund, ensuring it reached underserved groups and communities and those who have been most significantly impacted by COVID-19 in Leicester.

With effect from 5 November until the start of December new national measures restrictions will be introduced. We hoped that by strong local action, and with strong local leadership, we could get the rates of infection down where the disease was surging. But it is now clear that we need to take action immediately to protect the National Health Service and to get ‘R’ decisively below 1. We must do this to curtail the exponential growth in hospitalisations and deaths. At the end of the period, we will look to return to a local and regional approach, based on the latest data.