Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what (i) advice and (ii) guidance has been produced by the (a) Home Office and (b) Security Industry Authority on the use of private investigators.

The Security Industry Authority (SIA) is a Home Office Arm’s Length Body established by the Private Security Industry Act 2001 (PSIA) as the regulator of the private security industry. The SIA does not currently regulate Private Investigators. As such, neither the Home Office nor the Security Industry Authority have published advice or guidance on the use of private investigators.

The Home Office will continue to consider whether there is a case for further regulation under the Private Security Industry Act, taking care to ensure that any approach is proportionate and does not unduly restrict legitimate activity.

Private Investigators must adhere to the law, like any member of public, and any offences they commit should be dealt with in accordance with the law.