§ Mr. David MarshallTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to regulate the security industry; and if he will make a statement. [37526]
§ Mr. MichaelWe intend to introduce statutory regulation of the private security industry as soon as possible but pressures on Parliamentary time constitute an obstacle to early legislation, as we warned would be the case when we pressed the last Government for early legislation before the election. We have recently completed a consultation exercise with the industry and others on the best way to provide a comprehensive, effective and streamlined system for the whole of the private security industry. It is clear from the responses that there is general support for our approach from the industry itself, as well as from other respondents, and we hope to put forward firm proposals for regulation later this year. Our aim is to build a consensus behind legislative proposals in order to be able to move more quickly and effectively as soon as Parliamentary time becomes available.