§ 24. Mrs. MahonTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to introduce the statutory regulation of the private security industry. [11680]
§ Mr. MichaelWe intend to introduce statutory regulation of the private security industry as soon as possible. As we warned in opposition, we will not be able to bring forward legislation in our first year of office, but as is shown by our consultation exercise, we are already working with the industry and others to achieve a consensus on the best way to provide a comprehensive, effective and streamlined system of regulations.
§ 38. Mr. EnnisTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to introduce the statutory regulation of the private security industry. [11694]
§ Mr. MichaelWe intend to introduce statutory regulation of the private security industry as soon as possible. We will not be able to bring forward legislation in our first year of office, as we warned before the election, but we have recently completed a consultation exercise with the industry and others on the best way to provide a comprehensive, effective and streamlined system. We want to look beyond the narrow proposals put forward by the previous Government which focused only on criminal record checks for the contract guarding sector of the industry. In opposition we welcomed the recommendations of the Home Affairs Committee on regulation. However, the Committee did not offer a detailed blueprint and in the light of the responses received to the consultation exercise we will consider the industry as a whole to decide what action is needed.