Support is growing among MPs to extend the remit of the Gangmasters Licence Authority (GLA) from agriculture and food processing to other sectors, including construction and hospitality.

GLA chairman Paul Whitehouse told Recruiter: "Last month there was a Private Members Bill to expand the GLA's powers to construction but it failed because of its timing. However, there is a growing realisation that the current situation is inconsistent and is creating problems."

Whitehouse added that there is obvious evidence that companies that have their GLA licence revoked are not going out of business, therefore they must be moving into other sectors.

REC director of external relations, Tom Hadley, said: "The REC is fully supportive of the GLA but it will be important to evaluate the effectiveness of the current licen- sing scheme before discus-sing any possible extension. We must focus on the best way of driving out the outlaws rather than adding extra costs on agencies that already comply with existing regulations and industry codes of practice."

• For details of companies who have recently had their licences revoked, visit recruitermagazine.co.uk