Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will take steps to ensure that public contracts are not awarded to companies which blacklist workers.

The Government is committed to tackling misconduct in public procurement. All contracting authorities and suppliers are expected to act, and be seen to act, with integrity.

The Employment Relations Act 1999 (Blacklists) Regulations 2010 prohibit the compilation, usage, sale or supply of blacklists. Contracting authorities may exclude suppliers for blacklisting offences under the exclusion regime in the Procurement Act, which came into force in February 2025, for example, on the grounds of professional misconduct. Those suppliers may also be added to a central debarment list by the Cabinet Office. We will not hesitate to make use of those powers where there is evidence of wrongdoing.