Interviews

BSIA call on business licensing

by Mark Rowe

In correspondence with the Home Office, the British Security Industry Association (BSIA) has learned that the Government has “decided to defer the introduction of regulations affecting private security businesses until the next Parliament”, according to a Home Office spokesperson. In spite of the many years that the security trade body has spent lobbying the Government over changes to business regulation and the transition to a new regulatory regime, this announcement confirms concerns that regulatory change will not happen in this Parliament, the Worcester-based association says. BSIA chief executive James Kelly, pictured, writes:

Although a Home Office spokesperson has said that the introduction of regulation has been deferred until the next Parliament, this of course relies solely on the make-up of the next Government. With the likelihood of another coalition increasingly apparent, the certainty of the introduction of business licensing continues to hang in the balance. The Government has declared its commitment to the broader reform of industry regulation to promote best practice, raise standards and drive out criminality, however, this latest announcement is completely counter-intuitive to the 2012 Home Office consultation on future regulatory reform for the industry. In the Written Ministerial Statement that followed the consultation, the Government acknowledged the strong support for the consultation and noted that the majority of respondents supported the introduction of business licensing. Since that statement, there has been little movement from the Government leading to the current situation where the time to introduce new legislation prior to the General Election has run out and the issue has been shunted into the next Parliament. Frustratingly for those working within the industry, the Government has missed several opportunities to act, such as the Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act (2014), Counter-Terrorism & Security Bill (2015) and the Serious Crime Bill currently going through its final stages in Parliament.

So where does that leave us? With no regulation happening before May we must now turn our attention to the election. With no Party likely to lead a majority we need to see positive support of business licensing in the manifestos of several parties to ensure the likelihood that it is included in any post-election coalition agreement. In the new Parliament the BSIA will continue to lobby the Government on behalf of the industry to continue pressing the importance of business licensing. Plans for initial engagement with the next Government are already in place here at the BSIA and we will be watching the next Government closely to see where we can proactively influence policy in the interest of our industry and the customers it serves.

Despite declarations of Government support for business licensing, our industry remains in a state of limbo, and the BSIA – as part of the Security Regulation Alliance – continues to remain at the centre of debate and discussion to ensure the needs of our industry are conveyed appropriately.

For more about the BSIA and its lobbying activity, visit www.bsia.co.uk.

Related News

Newsletter

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter to stay on top of security news and events.

© 2024 Professional Security Magazine. All rights reserved.

Website by MSEC Marketing