The Coalition Government does not yet have a parliamentary timetable for all the law changes needed to change the Security Industry Authority (SIA) – which is already a tight fit to finish before the next general election in 2015, so the regulator’s annual conference learned. But without ‘primary legislation’ the SIA will not have new powers to enforce the new rules on business licensing by punishing offenders.
The November 20 event was chaired by Bill Mathews, acting chair of the SIA board, who welcomed delegates to the central London venue. For details of the event, and past SIA conferences going back to 2007, visit the SIA website.
The event opened with a video address from Lord Taylor of Holbeach, pictured, parliamentary under secretary for criminal information and the minister responsible for the SIA. Now in his Home Office job for a year, having spoken at the 2012 SIA conference, he said that he had been struck by the dedication and professionalism of the private security industry, While admitting on reform of the SIA – a task the Coalition has set itself since autumn 2010 – that ‘a lot still needs to be done’, he said: “The Government remains committed to reforming the regulation of the private security industry.”
That reform will come in two parts: first, ‘the regulation of businesses through changes in secondary legislation’. On the parts of reform that need ‘primary legislation’ – that is, the altering of the Private Security Industry Act 2001 (PSIA) that the SIA is based on – the peer did not give a date. He said only that he continued ‘to seek an appropriate opportunity to introduce new legislation. However, I took a deliberate decision that this requirement shouldn’t impact on the industry benefiting from the introduction of business licensing as soon as possible.’ He went on to the licensing of private investigations, as announced by Home Secretary Theresa May in the summer – and which the Government can do under the PSIA, as private investigators are named in that Act. Lord Taylor said that he wanted to be sure that the definition of a PI ‘remains relevant and workable for the sector’. On PIs, he added: “I want regulation of private investigators to ensure that we are putting in place effective arrangements which help prevent the type of underhand and intimidating behaviour
which we all know impacts on and destroys people’s lives.”
As for what powers the SIA would have to enforce regulations of PIs, Lord Taylor spoke of going before parliament in July 2014. “It is our intention, that it will become an enforceable offence for an individual to undertake the activity of private investigations without a licence from April 2015.” He spoke also more generally of the Government’s work on organised crime and police and crime commissioners. He thanked Vera Baird, the Labour Police and Crime Commissioner in Northumbria Police, for work towards the new training requirement for door staff to be aware of vulnerable young people, as featured in the November issue of Professional Security. As for UK security exports, Lord Taylor also mentioned the appointment of Stephen Phipson as Director for Security Industry Engagement in the Home Office.
For Lord Taylor’s speech in full visit – http://www.sia.homeoffice.gov.uk/Documents/conference/ho-partners-lord-taylor.pdf
