Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential security risks associated with rapid increases in temporary recruitment in the delivery sector during peak shopping periods.

The Home Office has not made such an assessment. It is for companies in the delivery sector to act to ensure their employees are of good standing, and that appropriate and proportionate background checks are undertaken where this is deemed to be necessary.

In relation to Royal Mail, Ofcom’s regulatory framework places obligations on them, as the universal service provider, in relation to recruitment, training of employees (including temporary workers) and on security of the mail processes for employees. This does not apply to other delivery operators.