Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the Security Industry Authority’s (SIA) (a) licensing and (b) training requirements in ensuring that private security staff are appropriately (i) qualified and (ii) competent to manage safety and security risks; and what steps her Department is taking to ensure that SIA-approved training providers are effectively monitored to (A) prevent malpractice and (B) uphold training standards.

The private security industry plays a crucial role in keeping the public safe and it is critical that there is a high standard of regulatory oversight of the industry. The Security Industry Authority (SIA) provides such oversight by operating the regulatory regime set up by the Private Security Industry Act 2001 (PSIA).

This includes setting minimum standards for, and ensuring individuals seeking to work in designated roles have completed, mandatory training, as well as running criminal record and other checks. This aims to ensure that SIA licence holders are ‘fit and proper’ individuals who have the relevant skills and knowledge needed to perform their role. The SIA is currently conducting a 5 year review of training standards to ensure skills keep pace with emerging threats, and will be working closely with experts and the industry on this.

Training providers and qualification awarding bodies are regulated by the Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation (Ofqual) and its partner organisations in Scotland and Northern Ireland. The SIA is working closely with these partners to share intelligence, conduct more inspections and improve systems in order to uphold the integrity of qualifications.