Review of Operation Tacit
Published 22 May 2023
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Context
Operation Tacit (Op Tacit) was a period of enforcement activity which commenced in July 2020 following widespread media reporting of allegations of modern slavery in the Leicester garment industry.
The operation, led by The Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority (GLAA), involved closely working with labour market enforcement bodies, police, National Crime Agency (NCA), and the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) in partnership with Leicester City Council and community and workers’ groups.
Op Tacit has been one of the largest multi-agency labour enforcement operations of its kind with significant resources contributed by the partners involved.
Director of Labour Market Enforcement announced in the 2022 to 2023 Interim LME Strategy (awaiting clearance from government) to undertake an independent review of Op Tacit and to report her findings to BEIS and Home Office Ministers in 2023.
Objectives
The objectives for this review are:
- to understand the circumstances leading to up to Op Tacit, roles of stakeholders involved, the compliance and enforcement approaches used, the impact Op Tacit had on finding and tackling labour exploitation in the Leicester garment sector
- to inform future sector and location-focused multi-agency enforcement interventions
Scope of the review
Although the issue of non-compliance in the Leicester textiles industry isn’t new, this review will focus only on Op Tacit itself and associated relevant issues around this.
Methodology
The review seeks to draw on written and verbal evidence from all parties involved in Op Tacit. This will include representatives from the organisations mentioned above as well as officials in BEIS and Home Office.
Reporting
The Director of Labour Market Enforcement will commence the review in June 2022 with a view to reporting in 2023. The findings of the review will be published.