Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether he has had recent discussions with the Security Industry Authority on potential malpractice by SIA course instructors.

As the regulator of the private security industry, the Security Industry Authority (SIA) is responsible for specifying the standard of skills and knowledge that a licensed security operative must have. The SIA does not deliver training itself. Applicants must complete all the mandatory learning modules, and have successfully achieved the role-specific qualification, prior to submitting their licence application to the SIA.

If the SIA subsequently finds that a licence holder has not completed all the required training and there is doubt over the validity of the qualification, the SIA will suspend or revoke their licence.

In response to recent media reports of training malpractice, the SIA is working with qualification regulators and awarding organisations to ensure that allegations are investigated effectively. The public must have confidence that licensed operatives have undertaken mandatory training. The Home Office is in discussion with the SIA on this issue and receiving regular reports.