What progress is being made in developing proposals to regulate the private security industry.

Seventy-two responses were received to the consultation paper the Scottish Executive issued in September 2001 seeking views on the regulation of the private security industry. The consultation exercise indicated widespread support for regulation although there were a range of views as to how this should be achieved. Two key issues were identified:the need to minimise bureaucracy, particularly from those companies which operate both north and south of the border, and to need to ensure that licence conditions and fees were set at a similar level to those in England and Wales so as not to disadvantage legitimate Scottish industry.Since the consultation exercise, further work has been undertaken which indicates that local regulation of door supervisors would be significantly more expensive and less reliable that central licensing and that our original cost assumptions were too low. Taking account of this additional work and the outcome of the consultation exercise we have concluded that we should work with the Home Office to extend the remit of Security Industry Authority (SIA) to include Scotland.A standard system of regulation across the whole of Great Britain would have a number of significant attractions:Economies of scaleConsistency across Great Britain in terms of numbers of licences, licence conditions, training standards and costs
- and ensuring duplication and bureaucracy are kept to a minimum.Individuals would require only one licence
- no matter where they worked.There should be better and more consistent enforcement.This will require amendments to the Private Security Act 2001 to extend the SIA's remit to include Scotland and to make consequential amendments to reflect the separate Scottish legal system and areas of the industry, such as precognition agents which are unique here. Home Office ministers have indicated that they would welcome extending the SIA's remit to Scotland as soon as the legislative timetable permits. The SIA comes into being on 1 April 2003 and will begin issuing licences later in the year, taking each sector of the industry in turn. There should be no difficulty in bringing Scotland on board at the end of this process. Extending the remit of the SIA to include Scotland, as now proposed, can only be undertaken through legislation promoted by the UK Government. Although serious consideration was given to establishing a separate Scottish SIA, the overriding requirement is to deliver an affordable, consistent licensing regime which points clearly to a Great Britain wide approach. This will ensure best value over the long-term and will ensure that Scottish industry can thrive and compete effectively.A more detailed assessment is available on the Scottish Executive website or on request from the Executive.