To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many times employers have been investigated under section 8 of the Asylum and Immigration Act 1996; in how many cases employers have been prosecuted under this act; and what level of fines were imposed in these cases. [9490]

The approach of the Immigration Service towards section 8 of the 1996 Asylum and Immigration Act is that if, during the course of normal operational activity, an employer is found to have breached section 8 they will be advised of its provisions and issued with a warning letter. The warning letter informs them that if they continue to offend consideration will be given to prosecution. There is no central record of the number of warning letters issued and there have been no prosecutions under section 8 to date.