Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps are being taken to ensure appropriate use of powers of arrest which are to be granted to private security firms; and if he will make a statement.

Powers of arrest are not granted to private security firms, they are granted to Approved Enforcement Agencies (AEA) as well as to HMCTS Civilian Enforcement Officers and the Police. These are not new powers. They have been in use for many years across the country.

These powers apply to arrests relating to debt and community penalty breaches, following the issue of a Warrant of Arrest from the criminal courts. The use of AEAs to execute warrants of arrest is overseen by Her Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals Service.

A procurement process is currently underway which will result in the establishment of new AEA contracts. That procurement process is also exploring the potential to further extend the volume of arrest warrants executed by AEAs. HMCTS will fully evaluate all proposals submitted by potential AEAs as part of the bidding process before making a final decision on this.