Written question asked by Lord Pickles (Conservative) on Friday, 24 March 2006, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Tuesday, 28 March 2006. It was answered by Lord Coaker (Labour) on Thursday, 18 May 2006 on behalf of the Home Office.

Security Industry Authority

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether security industry workers who have applied for a licence to the Security Industry Authority but who have not yet received one will be able to continue in their employment.

Answer: From 20 March 2006, it became a criminal offence for manned guards to carry out security activities without a licence under the terms of the Private Security Industry Act 2001 (PSIA). Enforcement is the responsibility of the Security Industry Authority and the police. The SIA published an enforcement policy on 7 March which stated that, while they want the private security industry to be compliant with the law as quickly as possible, they will take into account a number of factors when deciding what enforcement action to take. These factors include the progress an individual has made towards getting or renewing a licence, the current licensing processing time, the time elapsed since the activity became licensable and any previous encounters with or warnings given by the SIA or other agency.Any individual carrying out licensable activities without a licence will be committing a criminal offence, unless they have received a license dispensation notice from the SIA under the Approved Contractor Scheme (ACS). This allows accredited firms to legally deploy a proportion of their staff who have completed their training but whose applications are still being processed. As at 11 May, it is estimated that around 30,000 individuals are being deployed lawfully under the ACS Scheme.

Secondary information