Written question asked by Andrew Turner (Conservative) on Thursday, 30 March 2006, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Tuesday, 18 April 2006. It was answered by Lord Coaker (Labour) on Monday, 5 June 2006 on behalf of the Home Office.

Security Industry Authority

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many companies were visited by the Security Industry Authority (SIA) prior to the 20 March deadline as part of Operation Forewarn; how many of those have been revisited since 20 March; and how many enforcement personnel employed by the SIA have been employed in checking licences since 20 March.

Answer: [holding answer 18 April 2006]: ‘Operation Forewarn’ is one of a number of initiatives in a wider Security Industry Authority operation that will ensure senior employees of private security companies understand their legal obligations under the Private Security Industry Act 2001 (PSIA 2001).Prior to 20 March, 84 companies were issued with warnings as part of this initiative.Since 20 March the SIA has been carrying out a series of visits to customer sites as part of the next phase of compliance initiatives. At 7 April, 52 sites operated by 20 security companies were visited and security operatives checked. 55 SIA warning notices were issued to individuals who were found to be working unlawfully. Further details cannot be provided as this may prejudice ongoing and future operations involving compliance and investigation. An update will be provided and placed in the Library by the end of June.The SIA has a regionally based compliance teamof 33.

Secondary information