SIA issues findings of business approval scheme consultation process

The SIA currently approves circa 750 security businesses. 85 of the largest of these businesses by turnover account for 40% of the total UK private security market, employing approximately 30% of individual SIA licence holders.

In 2023, the regulator considered what changes it could make to the existing Approved Contractor Scheme (ACS) to ensure better public protection outcomes. The SIA then refreshed its strategy for approving private security businesses and duly set out a plan for improving business standards in its published Strategic Plan 2023-2026.

The consultation process was orchestrated to examine the case for change in principle as well as the SIA’s emerging thinking on alterations it proposes to develop. The proposed changes would place public protection at the heart of the scheme and signal a marked shift in terms of how the SIA approves businesses and, indeed, how standards are defined for the private security sector.

In accordance with Government pre-General Election rules, publication of the findings was put on hold until after 4 July.

In total, the SIA received just over 400 responses to the consultation from right across the UK. For the most part, respondents emanated from the private security industry (which accounted for 86% of all those responses received). The majority of respondents were ACS-registered businesses, with the next largest number being non-ACS private security businesses followed by individual licence holders.

Overall, respondents broadly supported the proposed approach. The key themes emerging from the consultation included the importance of skills, professional development, training and industry experience.

Case for change

The SIA asked whether the new scheme should be focused on public protection outcomes, as well as what issues and challenges the scheme should prioritise. 78% of respondents agreed that the future scheme ought to focus on public protection outcomes.

The top themes respondents felt the scheme should prioritise are as follows:

*compliance (with SIA and HMRC rules in addition to rules on working conditions, including welfare and pay)

*skills (in particular more training for front line employees in order to increase their capabilities)

*labour and sub-contracting (with the emphasis on adherence to HMRC guidelines)

*a focus on reassuring the public about safety (ie through the capability of front line employees, including their knowledge and skills plus working conditions)

The regulator invited views on the eligibility criteria for the new scheme and the pathway to approval. The results make for very interesting reading:

*84% of respondents agreed that the core eligibility requirements should continue to encompass evidence of a good track record

*47% said that those seeking approval should provide evidence of having supplied private security services under contract for at least 12 months

*56% agreed with a move to more flexible weighted requirements that consider a range of factors

Most respondents (ie 84%) stated that skills and experience and time supplying private security services under contract (72%) are the most important areas to evidence and test, while 79% agreed that the SIA should continue to require and test evidence from all businesses that they can identify in order to mitigate public protection risks.

Further, 83% agreed with a pathway to approval: a majority of 36% said businesses should achieve full approval within 12 months, while 14% voiced the view that the time allowed should be determined on a case-by-case basis.

Approval criteria and assessment methods

The SIA asked for views on the criteria it should use to approve businesses under the new scheme. 73% of respondents agreed with a ‘must’, ‘should’ and ‘could’ approach being adopted towards approval criteria. In addition, 58% agreed with the assertion that businesses should be encouraged to go beyond the bare minimum and achieve good practice.

In response to the question on what other commitments businesses should be expected to achieve, 36% said ‘skills and professional development’, 15% focused on ‘employee pay and benefits’ and 7% pointed to ‘working conditions’. 56% agreed that the regulator should expect those supplying specialist security services to demonstrate capability by meeting additional requirements.

Views were invited on the methods that the SIA might use to assess businesses who’ve applied to join the scheme and what the assessments should focus on. 56% of respondents agreed that assessments would give sufficient assurance that requirements are met. 69% agreed with prioritising how standards are achieved by focussing on service delivery, while 48% of those supporting a focus on service delivery agreed with upwards of 80% being spent on it.

What’s more, 64% of respondents agree with an approach that allows the SIA to tailor assessments to prioritise and support higher risk businesses. 71% who didn’t agree with tailored assessments suggested that ‘consistency is needed’ or ‘at least an annual assessment is necessary’. 26% said they expected to see something else in the regulator’s approach to assessments, with most expecting to witness ‘random visits and checks’.

Grounded in public protection

Jane Debois, head of business standards at the SIA, commented: “The growing recognition of the critical role private security plays in public safety means there’s a clear need for a new scheme which is grounded in public protection.”   

Debois continued: “I’m extremely grateful to everyone who responded to this consultation, the majority of whom agreed that there should be more robust requirements within the scheme to support public safety. We’re now planning to develop detailed designs for the new scheme and will take the feedback we’ve received from this consultation process into account.”

The SIA expects the next phase of designing the business approval scheme to begin in the latter part of this year. Once the design for the scheme has been drafted, the regulator will then hold a second public consultation. The current intention is to launch the new scheme during the business year 2026-2027.

*Read the Executive Summary of the response to the consultation