Heather Baily to step down from industry regulator in February 2026

Commenting on the conclusion of her tenure, Baily observed: “It has been a privilege to be the chair of the SIA. I have been supported by a Board with strong professional expertise among our non-executive directors and a very capable executive team and staff. Under the leadership of Michelle Russell as our CEO, the SIA’s team has consistently performed to a very high standard with dedication and professionalism.”

On that note, Baily continued: “I would like to thank them for this. Their commitment, together with the engagement and support of the private security industry and our partner agencies, has enabled us to achieve our public safety objectives and rise to the challenges and opportunities we’ve faced over the last four years. I’m very proud of what the SIA has achieved and I’m confident that we will continue to deliver our core objectives of raising standards and protecting the public as well as delivering high-quality and robust regulation.”

Michelle Russell, CEO at the SIA, responded: “It has been a pleasure working with Heather in her role as chair of the SIA. During her tenure, she has built a strong and professional Board and supported the SIA to be a proactive and forward-looking organisation with a focus on public safety.”

Further, Russell stated: “Heather has ensured that the SIA has had a much more external focus on engagement with the private security industry. The insights from this have been invaluable in shaping the SIA’s approach to delivering public safety outcomes. She has established and embedded the SIA as a UK-wide regulator and fostered strong relationships with the devolved administrations in Northern Ireland and Scotland. On behalf of the SIA team, I want to thank Heather for her commitment to the work of the regulator.”

Priorities for the SIA

Over the course of the next six months, Baily will lead the Board as the SIA continues to deliver its regulatory functions and the outcomes set out in its business plan for this year. She will also continue to oversee delivery on the priorities for the SIA identified earlier this year by Security Minister Dan Jarvis. These include the development of the Martyn’s Law regulatory function, continuing to develop the new business approval scheme, tackling training malpractice and reviewing the approach to the granting of individual licences so that there can be greater confidence in the licensing regime.

Baily will also continue to support the development of the SIA’s next three-year corporate strategy, which takes effect from April 2026.

The process to identify the next chair of the SIA will be led by the Home Office. The role of chair is a ministerial appointment. As such, the decision as to whom to appoint will be made by the Home Secretary following an open recruitment process run by the public appointments team, which will commence shortly.

*Further information is available online at www.gov.uk/sia