Has Parliament ever debated locksmith licensing?

Yes. On 22 September 2021 Mark Pawsey MP (Conservative, Rugby) secured a Westminster Hall debate on the licensing of locksmiths. He proposed a Gas Safe Register model at no cost to the taxpayer. The Government rejected the proposal, saying there was not a sufficient business case and that the points that led to locksmiths being excluded from the Private Security Industry Act 2001 remained relevant.

Why did the Government reject locksmith licensing?

The Minister for Security and Borders Damian Hinds said the Government did not want to increase regulation and the burden on businesses unless there was an absolutely compelling case. He said the Government had not seen evidence of unlicensed locksmiths contributing to neighbourhood crime such as burglary, and that the MLA's voluntary scheme was sufficient.

What did Parliament say about rogue locksmith scams in 2021?

Mark Pawsey MP told Parliament that two thirds of the MLA's largest members had attended a botched rogue locksmith job in the preceding year. Collectively more than 300 botched jobs were documented. 65% of MLA members said rogue locksmiths overcharged customers by £200 or more. He also cited Google banning locksmith advertising in Belgium, Netherlands, Germany and Sweden as evidence of the scale of the problem.

Parliament Debated Locksmith Licensing in 2021 — and Rejected It

What Parliament was told

On 22 September 2021 Mark Pawsey MP — the Conservative Member for Rugby, the constituency where the Master Locksmiths Association is based — secured a Westminster Hall debate on the licensing of locksmiths. He was joined by Sir Greg Knight MP for East Yorkshire.

The evidence put to Parliament that afternoon was unambiguous. The MLA had documented more than 300 botched rogue locksmith jobs attended by its members in the preceding year. Two thirds of the MLA's largest members had been called to such a job. 65% reported that rogues overcharged customers by £200 or more. Neighbourhood Watch had surveyed its members — 76% were unaware locksmiths were unregulated. On being told, 27% described themselves as very shocked.

Mark Pawsey also cited Google's own words — that Google had banned locksmith advertising in Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, and Sweden because "most if not all ads appearing in search results are from unreliable or even crooked locksmiths who take advantage of those in need." If Google itself had concluded that, Parliament was asked — what more evidence does the Government need?

What was proposed — the Gas Safe Register model

Mark Pawsey proposed not expensive new bureaucracy but a Gas Safe Register model — an industry-led scheme at no cost to government or taxpayer. Just as gas engineers must be on the Gas Safe Register before legally working on gas appliances, locksmiths would need to be vetted, inspected, and qualified before trading.

It would be illegal to trade as an unlicensed locksmith. It would be illegal to employ an unlicensed locksmith. Ireland had already done exactly this in February 2017. The precedent existed. The model existed. The MLA — the authoritative body recognised by the Home Office, police, and British Standards Institution — existed. All the Government needed to do was say yes.

The Government's response — and why it is indefensible

The Minister for Security and Borders, Damian Hinds, responded for the Government. His response can be summarised in three sentences.

"No evident high level of criminality"

The Minister stated that locksmiths were excluded from the Private Security Industry Act 2001 because there was "no evident high level of criminality" — and that those points "remain relevant to the locksmith industry today."

This was said in 2021 — after 300 botched jobs had just been documented to Parliament, after Google had banned locksmith advertising in four countries, after the BBC had run Rip Off Britain on the subject. The Government's position was that this did not constitute evident criminality.

"Not a sufficient business case"

The Minister said: "As yet, we do not judge that there has been a sufficient business case to justify the licensing of locksmiths under the Private Security Industry Act 2001."

The proposed scheme would cost the government nothing. The Gas Safe Register — the model proposed — is self-funded by industry fees. The "business case" argument was not about cost. It was about political will.

"Focused on poor workmanship — not crime"

The Minister said: "Much of the argument focuses on poor workmanship... The Government have not seen evidence of unlicensed locksmiths contributing to the incidence of neighbourhood crime such as burglary."

This missed the point entirely. The harm being described — charging £600 for a £50 job, bait and switch pricing, threatening behaviour to extract payment — is consumer fraud. It does not require a burglary to be criminal. The Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 that the Minister cited as protection are rarely enforced for individual locksmith callouts because Trading Standards does not have the resources.

What has happened since the Government said no

The debate was in September 2021. The Government rejected licensing. Here is what has happened in the five years since.

MLA complaints rose 66% between 2021 and 2025 — and then surged a further 147% in Q1 2026 versus Q1 2025. The problem has not diminished. It has accelerated.

Spain joined the ban in November 2024 — locksmith Google advertising banned. Belgium, Netherlands, Germany, and Sweden were already banned when Parliament debated the issue in 2021. Now five European countries have banned locksmith advertising. Apple banned home services advertising globally in July 2026. The UK has still done nothing.

Virtual phone number networks operating dozens of fake locksmith listings simultaneously across London have been documented — six coordinated networks using 020 3633, 020 8087, 020 3519, 020 3951, 020 3670, and 020 8191 prefixes. None of this infrastructure existed at the scale it does today in 2021.

Individual victims charged up to £3,300 for a single callout. A bedbound 91 year old charged for work that required a screwdriver. Disabled tenants charged over £1,000. These are not abstractions — they are documented cases in the locksmithscams.co.uk database.

Certified Locksmiths and Security met Gareth Bacon MP in August 2026 — again raising the licensing issue with Parliament. Five years after the 2021 debate the industry is still lobbying for the same thing. The Government's position has never changed.

The one thing the Minister agreed to

When Mark Pawsey pressed the Minister to at least accept a representation from the MLA, Damian Hinds said: "Of course, we are always open to representations and want to hear from trusted voices in the industry. I would encourage the association to continue engaging with officials at the Home Office." That was five years ago. The MLA is still engaging. The officials are still listening. Nothing has been done.

Why this matters for the current parliamentary campaign

The 2021 debate is not ancient history — it is the most recent parliamentary record on this subject. Any MP raising locksmith licensing today is building on that record. Any minister responding today cannot claim ignorance of the problem — it was put to their predecessors in full, on the record, in Hansard, five years ago.

The evidence base is now dramatically stronger than it was in 2021. The 114 documented companies on locksmithscams.co.uk. The six coordinated virtual phone number networks. The two County Court Judgments against Definitive Trading Ltd in June 2026. The BBC One Show coverage of DIYBEST Ltd in April 2026. The Gareth Bacon MP meeting in August 2026. The Ofcom consultation. The parliamentary petition.

What you can do

Sign the parliamentary petition. Write to your MP — send them the Hansard link and ask what has changed since 2021. Share this article.

Sign the Petition → Write to Your MP → Read the Hansard record →

Source: Hansard, House of Commons Westminster Hall, 22 September 2021, Volume 701. Debate: Licensing of Master Locksmiths. Members: Mark Pawsey (Rugby, Con), Sir Greg Knight (East Yorkshire, Con). Minister: Damian Hinds (Minister for Security and Borders). Full record at hansard.parliament.uk.

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Parliament was told about the locksmith scam crisis in 2021. The Government rejected licensing. Complaints have since risen 147%.