Gangmaster police told to rein back
The new ‘light touch’ policy looks like a surprisingly wide-ranging response to complaints about GLA bureaucracy – it even exempts some shellfish-gathering activities.
The authority was set up in 2005, to protect casual labourers from exploitation, after 21 Chinese cockle pickers drowned in Morecambe Bay in 2004.
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Hide AdForestry contractors and others have been complaining about the cost and form-filling imposed on businesses recognised as being low risk.
And on Thursday Defra minister James Paice said he was telling the GLA to concentrate on the necessary.
He said: “We’ll be using a much more targeted approach to clamp down where action is most needed.
“Responsible employers who play by the rules will be freed from unnecessary costs and bureaucracy.”
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Hide AdHe said the GLA had been told to lay off proven low-risk sectors, including forestry contractors and land agents.
Defra has allowed a year to discuss the detail but its announcement left little room for doubt that the GLA has been firmly told to curb its enthusiasm.