Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department plans to make an assessment of the potential merits of providing financial support for (a) top up courses and (b) first aid courses for security officers on low incomes seeking to renew their Security Industry Authority licences.

The Security Industry Authority (SIA) works closely with the private security industry and with training providers to develop qualification specifications and other requirements for all current and prospective licence-holders across the UK.

The SIA recognises the importance of supporting licence-holders and applicants and has worked with the training providers’ awarding bodies to ensure that training is as flexible and cost-effective as possible. Options include a mixture of self-study, virtual classrooms, and face-to-face training.

Neither the Home Office nor the SIA regulates the delivery of training which is the responsibility of dedicated agencies across the devolved administrations.

There are currently record numbers of licensed security operatives in the register of SIA licence holders.