The government is “clueless” about how many rip-off employment agencies operate in construction, industry union Ucatt charged yesterday.

Ucatt said that hundreds of thousands of workers in the industry were reliant on agencies to find jobs.

The union made a freedom of information request to the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) asking how many employment agencies operated in British construction.

But BIS admitted it did not have the information since “employment agencies and employment businesses operating in the construction sector are not required to be licensed.”

Ucatt leader Steve Murphy said: “Too often workers are mistreated and exploited via agencies.

“It is extraordinary that the government is clueless about who is recruiting workers. In reality anyone can set themselves up as a construction agency.”