Car washes targeted by Rwanda scheme staff reassigned to combat illegal workers
As many as 1,000 Immigration Enforcement staff will now focus on tackling businesses exploiting illegal foreign labour
The UK car wash industry has supported the government’s decision to shift its focus on immigration to target businesses employing illegal workers, calling for an “enforceable licencing scheme” to crack down on coercive practices by criminal gangs.
On Sunday, the new Home Secretary, Yvette Cooper, stated that she was “shocked” to find that as many as 1,000 civil servants had been assigned to work on the previous Conservative government’s controversial plan to send illegal migrants to Rwanda.
Cooper told the Sun on Sunday that Immigration Enforcement staff have now been reallocated to “focus on employers who are fuelling the trade of criminal gangs by exploiting and facilitating illegal working here in the UK – including in car washes”.
Over the summer, raids on businesses suspected of harbouring and employing illegal migrants will be ramped up, with Cooper promising to “increase returns of those with no right to be here and to make sure rules are respected and enforced”. The Home Office has also said it’s “drawing up new plans for fast-track decisions and returns for safe countries”.
These moves have been supported by the industry; Executive Director of the Car Wash Association, Gordon Balmer, said: “In a modern society, there is no place for modern slavery. We welcome the Government's initiative to target businesses employing illegal workers in car washes. However, it is disappointing that it has taken so long to address this well-documented issue.”
Balmer continued, calling Cooper’s prioritisation of the issue as “positive”. However, he also called for an “enforceable licencing scheme for hand car washes, including sanctions and enforcement by local councils and environmental health authorities”.
Tackling the issue of immigration is one of the several key priorities laid out by the Labour Party prior to its election to government earlier in July. Other promises also included a reinstatement of the 2030 petrol and diesel car ban – something that was missing from the party’s first King’s Speech – as well as a pledge to fix as many as one million potholes per year.
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