11 July 2004 - Gangmasters Licensing Act 2004 Receives Royal Assent
A new Bill - The Gangmasters Licensing Act 2004, which was introduced by Jim Sheridan, the Labour MP for West Renfrewshire in January 2004, has received Royal Assent. The Bill brings about the licensing of approximately 3000 Gangmasters who operate in the UK, who received a huge amount of media attention and acknowledgement following the drowning of 21 Chinese cocklepickers in Morecambe Bay in February 2004.
The Bill has been designed to prevent Gangmasters who operate in the UK's agriculture, horticulture and food processing and packaging industries from breaking health and safety, employment and other laws.
The new Act requires labour providers to be licensed and sets out:
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a Gangmasters Licensing Authority to operate a licensing scheme, set licensing conditions and maintain a register of licensed Gangmasters
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new offences, including operating without a licence, engaging the services of an unlicensed Gangmaster and using false documentation
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a maximum penalty of ten years in prison.
The Act will be found on Her Majesty's Stationery Office site shortly. In the meantime, you can continue to view the last version of the bill on the UK Parliament site. This version may, however, be significantly different from the Act.
