HC Deb 19 January 1981 vol 997 c17W
Mr. Steel

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he is satisfied with the licensing arrangements for professional private investigators; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Mayhew

There is no statutory licensing of private investigators. As part of our recent review of the private security industry, we considered the need for the statutory control of private investigators and concluded that the case for such control had not been made out. In our view it is preferable to support and encourage self-regulation within the industry, and discussions will now take place on how this might best be achieved.