Reform UK has proposed expanding immigration enforcement into routine inspections carried out by public authorities, claiming the changes could increase the country's capacity to conduct immigration checks by between ten and forty times.
The proposals form part of the party's Operation Restoring Justice immigration policy, published on Monday (12 October).
Checks during routine inspections
Under the plan, officials carrying out food hygiene inspections, non-domestic fire safety audits, workplace health and safety inspections and other regulatory visits would be trained to carry out basic immigration checks.
Reform argues that existing inspection activity could provide opportunities to identify people without permission to remain or work in the UK, without relying solely on dedicated immigration enforcement visits.
The party's policy document cites 12,791 illegal-working visits in 2025, compared with 350,000 food hygiene visits, 51,020 non-domestic fire safety audits and 13,200 Health and Safety Executive workplace inspections. These are figures presented by Reform in support of its proposal.
Information sharing and council incentives
Information gathered through the proposed checks would be passed to a planned Deportation Command and Migrant Identification Centre, which Reform says would help identify people living in Britain illegally.
The party also proposes sharing revenue from penalties imposed on employers of illegal workers with local authorities, as an incentive for councils to participate.
What does the 40-fold figure mean?
Reform estimates that incorporating immigration checks into existing inspections would increase enforcement capacity by a factor of at least ten and potentially as much as forty. That is the party's projection, not an independently established outcome. It does not mean Reform has pledged to recruit forty times as many immigration officers.
How such checks would operate in practice, what additional training would be required, and how data protection and safeguards would be managed remain important implementation questions.
The measures are proposals from an opposition party. They are not government policy and have not been enacted.
Sources
Reform UK — Operation Restoring Justice policy document
ITV News / PA — Reform immigration proposals, 12 October 2026