HC Deb 23 July 2004 vol 424 cc874-5W
Mr. Keith Simpson

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) for what reasons under the Private Security Industry Act 2001 a security officer pays a much higher sum for licences than the actual cost of the licensing and criminal record check; [184536]

(2) for what reasons under the Private Security Industry Act 2001 an individual private security officer will be required to pay for separate licences if during the course of his duties he patrols a shopping centre, monitors CCTV or applies a wheel clamp in a car park; [184537]

(3) for what reasons under the Private Security Industry Act 2001 licensing of the manned guarding sector of the security industry commences in January 2005 when compliance is not required until early 2006; [184538]

(4) for what reasons it was decided that in-house manned guarding teams should be exempt from licensing under the Private Security Industry Act 2001. [184539]

Ms Blears

[holding answer 16 July 2004]: The cost of the Security Industry Authority (SIA) licence, which is valid for three years, reflects the licence application process and includes the current cost of a Criminal Records Bureau Standard Disclosure (28). It also funds the associated activities undertaken to secure the future of the private security industry. These include compliance with and enforcement of the licensing scheme, raising awareness, accommodation, personnel, and research costs. The licence fee is tax deductible.

The private security industry contains a number of sectors each requiring their own skills and competencies. The SIA has worked closely with the industry to both identify and tailor training for these sector specific competencies. The nature of the sectors will mean that some training and competencies require sector specific licences. However, wherever possible, when competencies overlap between sectors, the SIA has exploited opportunities for one licence to be valid across a range of licensable activities.

The manned guarding sector is expected to commence rollout in January 2005. The industry has been supporting the SIA by working in partnership to find a mutually beneficial approach to the transition to licensing and developing the most appropriate process. The 12 months between commencement and legal requirement will allow business to spread their employees' training requirements and applications over a mutually agreeable time frame that meets both the commercial needs of the industry and the implementation of regulation.

The Government's White Paper published in 1999 envisaged that in-house staff employed on manned guarding duties would be covered by licensing arrangements. However, it was subsequently decided that, in light of differences in needs and circumstances between in-house provision and that under external contract, licensing requirements under the Act should not extend to in-house staff. More recently, the SIA has commissioned a detailed examination of in-house security provision, and a report is expected towards the end of the year.