Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an estimate of the number of workers residing in the country without legal permission or valid immigration status employed by food delivery companies.

The Home Office does not hold an estimate of the number of people working illegally in the gig economy. The recent joint work between the Office for National Statistics and the Home Office explains the complexities: Measuring illegal migration: our current view - Office for National Statistics.

The government takes illegal working very seriously, and we are determined to clamp down on the employment of individuals with no right to work in the UK.

In July 2025, the Home Office announced a new operational partnership with key food delivery companies to tackle illegal working in the gig economy, particularly among food delivery riders.