Security Industry Authority Licensing

SIA Licensing

One of the main duties of the SIA is the compulsory licensing of individuals working in specific sectors of the private security industry.

Whether or not an individual requires a licence is determined by the role that is performed and the activity that is undertaken. These are described fully in Section 3 and Schedule 2 of the Private Security Industry Act 2001 (as amended). It is a criminal offence to engage in licensable conduct without a licence: if found guilty, the maximum penalty is six months imprisonment and/or a fine of up to £5,000.

Licensable Activities (Sectors)

The activities defined as licensable by the Act are:

• Manned guarding, which includes:
  • Cash and Valuables in Transit
  • Close Protection
  • Door Supervision
  • Public Space Surveillance (CCTV)
  • Security Guard
• Immobilisation, restriction and removal of vehicles
• Key Holding

The Private Security Industry Act 2001 (as amended) allows for SIA licensing of private investigation activities, security consultants and precognition agents. However, the SIA does not currently license these activities.

Types of SIA Licence

There are two types of SIA licence:

• A front line licence is required if undertaking licensable activity, other than key holding activities (this also covers undertaking non-front line activity). A front line licence is in the form of a credit card-sized plastic card that must be worn, subject to the licence conditions.
• A non-front line licence is required for those who manage, supervise and/or employ individuals who engage in licensable activity, as long as front line activity is not carried out - this includes directors or partners. A non-front line licence is issued in the form of a letter that also covers key holding activities.

Licence Application Fee

The licence application fee is £245 for a three year licence, except for front line vehicle immobiliser licences where the fee is £245 for a one year licence. The fee is to cover the cost of processing the application and is not refundable. Individuals paying their own licence fee can claim tax relief against their taxable income. For employers paying the licence fee on behalf of an employee there is no tax or National Insurance liability.

Multiple Licences and Licence Integration

Some people may need more than one licence; in such cases the additional licence(s) will be discounted by 50%.

In some cases, the SIA is satisfied that the licensing criteria to be met for one licensable activity are sufficient to allow a licensed individual to carry out other licensable activities. 

In-house Guarding

The Private Security Industry Act 2001 does not require manned guards employed in-house to be licensed unless their activities are in relation to licensed premises.

The SIA was charged by Parliament to investigate the implications of extending the legislation to cover in-house manned guards once licensing of the private security industry had been in force for three to four years. In order to meet this obligation the SIA consulted widely through a range of mechanisms.

Its assessment of the evidence took into account that regulation should only be targeted where action was needed; that regulation should only intervene where there is a clear case for public protection, and any proposal for further regulation should be proportionate and follow a risk-based approach.

Its conclusion is that there is no clearly defined or substantiated risk to public protection to be addressed and that it is unable to make a case which would justify extending its remit to include the licensing of in-house guards.

The SIA has committed to reviewing the situation again in the 2012-2013 financial year.

Licence-linked Qualifications

Individuals applying for a front line SIA licence must prove that they are properly qualified to do their job. If they don’t hold one of the SIA-endorsed qualifications then their licence application will be refused.

The licence-linked qualifications are intended for individuals entering the private security industry. Their purpose is to ensure that the individual is capable of performing their duties in a manner that will not cause harm to themselves or any member of the public. The qualifications are meant to address the core areas of the role; they are not intended to cover all of the training that an operative could possibly have.

The SIA does not run training courses or award qualifications; it also does not approve or vet training providers. The SIA specifies the knowledge and skills that a licence holder needs to know and be able to do, and these specifications form the basis of the qualifications linked to SIA licensing.

The SIA has endorsed certain awarding bodies to offer these qualifications and approve training providers. As of September 2010, these awarding bodies are: British Institute of Innkeeping Awarding Body (BIIAB); Buckinghamshire New University; City & Guilds; Edexcel; EDI; HABC; NOCN; SQA.

In January 2008, Panorama carried out an undercover investigation in to the training that candidates were undertaking to obtain their SIA licences. This revealed that mobile phone use and open talking in exams was common practice during the training course and examination that the reporter took.

Training malpractice such as this is a matter for the various UK Qualification Regulatory Authorities. Training malpractice can be defined as any deliberate activity, neglect, default or other practice that compromises the integrity of the assessment process and / or the validity of certificates.

Confirmed cases of training malpractice may result in:

• the relevant awarding body or bodies removing the training centre's approval
• the SIA revoking the licences of those licence holders who benefitted from the malpractice.

Approved Contractor Scheme

One of the main duties of the SIA is to manage the Approved Contractor Scheme (ACS), a voluntary quality assurance scheme that measures private security suppliers against independently assessed operational and performance standards. Organisations that meet these standards are awarded 'Approved Contractor' status. As of June 2010, the total number of approved contractors was 672.

The ACS is based upon widely recognised business improvement models: ISO9001 and the European Foundation for Quality Management (EFQM) Excellence Model. The Scheme also references the British Standard codes of practice applicable to the private security industry and conformance to the relevant codes is built into the ACS requirements.

Companies applying to the scheme are assessed against 89 individual indicators of achievement. The SIA does not normally assess contractors directly, though it may do so in exceptional circumstances. The usual practice is for assessment by one of the SIA's appointed assessing bodies. As of August 2010, these UKAS-accredited assessing bodies are: BSI; Chamber Certification Assessment Services Ltd; NSI (prop. Insight Certification Ltd); ISOQAR; SSAIB.

SIA approval is only available for the activities of an organisation that are regulated under the Private Security Industry Act 2001. Approval is sector-specific, so a company offering two different kinds of private security services may be approved in one but not the other. To maintain approval an approved contractor must re-register every year and renew approval every three years. This process means that approved contractors are independently assessed on an annual basis.

ACS Fees

The fees charged by the SIA relate to:

1. Pre-approval. The application fee, payable for processing of the application including initial eligibility checks. The application fee is non-refundable once the processing of the application has begun.
2. Post-approval. The annual registration fee, payable on approval to cover the operational costs of the scheme. This fee is payable each year that approved status is maintained.

Size of Organisation	Licensable Employees	Application Fee	Annual Registration Fee
Micro	Up to 10	£400	£17 per licensable employee
Small	11 to 25	£800
Medium	26 to 250	£1,600
Large	Over 250	£2,400

Other fees payable that are relevant to approval but are not levied by the SIA are:

• Fees paid to assessing bodies to assess whether the applicant meets the requirements for approval
• Fees paid to assessing bodies for relevant accreditations used to support Passport applications

Falsely Claiming Approval

Claiming to be an approved contractor when this is not the case is an offence under section 16 of the Private Security Industry Act 2001. A section 16 offence includes use of the Approved Contractor Scheme accreditation mark or the use of language that may suggest approval or endorsement, such as "SIA registered" or "SIA member". The penalties for committing an offence under Section 16 are:

• Upon summary conviction at a Magistrate's Court, Sheriff Court or District Court, a fine of up to £5,000.
• Upon conviction on indictment at Crown Court, High Court of Justiciary or Sheriff and jury trial, an unlimited fine.

Security Industry Authority Discusses New Regulations

The Security Industry Authority (SIA) is the organisation responsible for regulating the private security industry in the UK. It is a non-departmental public body reporting to the Home Secretary and was established in 2003 under the terms of the Private Security Industry Act 2001.

The SIA has two main duties. One is the compulsory licensing of individuals undertaking designated activities within the private security industry; the other is to manage a voluntary Approved Contractor Scheme, which measures private security suppliers against independently assessed criteria.

On 14 October 2010 the UK Government's Cabinet Office made an announcement on the future of many public bodies. Its intention for the SIA was stated as: 'Security Industry Authority - No Longer an NDPB - Phased transition to new regulatory regime'. The exact nature of this new regulatory regime is yet to be determined. In the meantime the existing regulatory regime remains in place and existing laws will continue to be enforced.

29 October 2010

The SIA has been asked by ministers to work with the private security industry and key stakeholders to lead the phased transition to the new regulatory regime announced by Government.

An initial meeting took place yesterday, calling together a number of industry representatives and stakeholders. During this session, the SIA's initial framework for phased transition, reflecting the proposals first set out by Ruth Henig in June this year, was discussed. James Kelly gave an industry view from the Security Alliance.

A framework for the future and a delivery plan will be developed with industry and other stakeholders in the coming months, for presentation to ministers early next year. A further stakeholder meeting will be held in the New Year.

SIA chief executive Bill Butler said:

"Currently, the existing regulatory regime - licensing and the Approved Contractor Scheme, remain in place and existing laws will continue to be enforced. All individuals undertaking licensable activity must ensure they have the required SIA licence.

Work and planning will be underway immediately, but it is not expected that any significant changes will take place before the Olympics in 2012. The phased transition to the new regime will then take place. Subject to agreement, the transition could then be completed by 2014. Any changes will be implemented so as not to disrupt the Glasgow Commonwealth Games in 2014.

There is now much to be done, and the next step will be for the SIA to establish initial arrangements to work with the industry and stakeholders, including the devolved governments in Scotland and Northern Ireland."

Following the meeting, SIA chairman Ruth Henig said:

"We welcome the efforts made so far by the industry to inform the debate and to come together with the SIA to develop and ensure a smooth transition to the new regulatory regime."

Notes to Editors:

• On 14 October the Cabinet Office made an announcement on the future of public bodies following its review. Its intention for the SIA was stated as: 'Security Industry Authority - No Longer an NDPB - Phased transition to new regulatory regime'.
• The governments in Scotland and Northern Ireland wish to ensure that regulation of the private security industry continues in their countries. How this will work will be a policy decision for the devolved administrations.
• The Security Alliance is an industry group formed after the announcement of plans for a transition to a new regulatory regime. James Kelly is chief executive of the BSIA and spoke on behalf of the Security Alliance.
• The Security Industry Authority regulates the private security industry in the United Kingdom under the Private Security Industry Act 2001, reporting to the Home Secretary. Its main duties are: the compulsory licensing of individuals undertaking designated activities; managing the voluntary Approved Contractor Scheme approving private security suppliers.
• We are committed to the Regulators' Compliance Code, a statutory code of practice for regulators that promotes a risk-based, proportionate and targeted approach.

http://www.sia.homeoffice.gov.uk/Pages/about-news.aspx?newsid=245

Security Contractors

Private military companies refer to their active staff as security contractors, private military contractors or private security contractors, and prefer themselves to be known as private military corporations, private military firms, private security providers or military service providers. Private Military Companies refer to their business generally as the private military industry, in order to avoid the negative stigma often associated with mercenaries.

The services and expertise offered by PMCs are typically similar to those of governmental military or police forces, although, on a smaller scale. While PMCs often provide services to train or supplement official armed forces in service of governments, they can also be employed by private companies to provide bodyguards for key staff or protection of company premises, especially in hostile territories. 

Private military companies carry out many different missions and jobs. These include things such as supplying bodyguards to the Afghan president and piloting reconnaissance airplanes and helicopters. They are also licensed by the United States Department of State, they contract with foreign governments, training soldiers and reorganizing military forces in many countries.  The PMC industry is estimated to be worth over $100 billion a year.

Discharged military personnel make up the majority of Western contractors. The boom of the private security industry that took place in the 1990s can be traced back to the over 6 million military personnel that were discharged in that decade. Post Cold War military reduction has also expanded the recruiting pool for PMCs. In some cases, entire elite units, such as the South African 32nd Reconnaissance Battalion, (the Recces) and the former Soviet “Alfa” unit have been reorganized into private military companies.

Some commentators have argued that there has been a recent exodus from many special operations forces across the globe towards these private military corporations. Units that have allegedly been severely affected include The British Special Air Service, (the SAS), the US Special Operations Forces  and the Canadian Joint Task Force 2. Finding work in the industry is not difficult for most former soldiers as their personal network of fellow and ex-soldiers is enough to keep them informed of available contracts.