To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many staff in his Department work on enforcement of regulations that apply to employment agencies and employment businesses.

The Employment Agencies Standards (EAS) inspectorate currently has 11 staff responsible for enforcing the regulations that apply to employment agencies and employment businesses.

The Government consulted on this legislation earlier this year, and published our response on 12 July 2013. In that response, the Government indicated that it will be changing the enforcement strategy by moving to a more focused and targeted regime. In the future, the Government will focus resources on helping the most vulnerable workers who need protection, particularly those on National Minimum Wage (NMW), by moving resources from EAS to HM Revenue and Custom's NMW team. The Government's response can be found here:

https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/consultation-on-reforming-the-regulatory-framework-for-employment-agencies-and-employment-businesses