Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of the need to extend the remit of the Gangmasters Licensing Authority to the (a) cleaning, (b) care, (c) hospitality, (d) construction and (e) manufacturing sectors.

To date, no specific assessment has been made of the need to extend the remit of the Gangmasters Licensing Authority to these additional industrial sectors.

Employment agencies in sectors outside those licensed by the Gangmasters Licensing Authority are regulated by the Employment Agency Standards Inspectorate, part of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills. All
agency workers, whichever sector they work in, are also covered by the requirements of the National Minimum Wage Act, regulated by HMRC, health and safety legislation regulated by Health and Safety Executive and general
employment law, where Employment Tribunals can be used to determine disputes between employers and employees over employment rights.

The government is considering how best to add to existing protections of all workers affected by labour exploitation including the role and remit of the Gangmasters Licensing Authority. The functions of the GLA are laid out in the
2004 Gangmasters (Licensing) Act and significant changes will require amendment via primary legislation.