MP Steve Barclay will meet with Housing Minister Mark Prisk to discuss how to tackle rogue landlords and crack down on overcrowded housing in Fenland.

The North East Cambs MP will highlight the issues associated with Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMO’s) and their impact on local communities.

Migrant workers are regularly forced to pay high fees to live in overcrowded conditions and are often threatened by unscrupulous landlords.

Mr Barclay said: “There is still much to be done to clear up the issues of landlords and illegal gangmasters who are exploiting the most vulnerable members of our community.

“HMO’s are a matter of real concern for residents of Fenland and I look forward to meeting the minister to discuss the next stages of the campaign and what more can be done at both a local and national level to change the rules surrounding this issue.”

MP Barclay will update the minister on the progress made by the Multi-Agency taskforce ‘Operation pheasant’, launched in March.

Fenland District Council, Cambridgeshire Police, the Gangmasters Licensing authority and other agencies involved in the task force have investigated several hundred houses in Fenland where many people live in overcrowded and poor conditions.

The task force has also uncovered cases of human trafficking involving migrant workers being kept against their will.