§ Mr. Stephen O'BrienTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether the Employment Agency Standards Inspectorate has powers to investigate the in-house employment agency of the national health service. [183223]
§ Mr. SutcliffeThe Employment Agency Standards (EAS) Inspectorate enforces the provisions of the Employment Agency Act 1973 (the Act) and the associated Regulations. The Act regulates the conduct of employment agencies and employment businesses.
Section 9 of the Act sets out the powers of the EAS Inspectorate to enter any relevant business premises to inspect any records or to require any person on the premises to provide all such information as may be required to ascertain whether the provisions of the Act are being complied with.
The Act does not apply to the Crown or those bodies that are listed in section 13(7) of the Act. The in-house employment agency of the national health service, NHS Professionals, is not part of the Crown or listed as an exempt body in the Act.