Baroness Ruth Henig, Chairman of the Security Industry Authority, who has campaigned tirelessly to ensure a smooth transition of the regulator towards smarter regulation, has issued a statement today.
Ruth Henig said in her statement; “The Government’s announcement yesterday that the SIA is being removed from Schedule 1 of the Public Bodies Bill will be welcomed across the private security industry.(The SIA’s future: SIA removed from Quango hit list) The Government’s intention is to bring forward new legislation to develop and replace the SIA’s regulatory regime. This shows a welcome commitment to ensuring that the private security industry throughout the United Kingdom continues to be effectively regulated.”
“This confirms that regulation of the industry will continue, along with measures to enforce compliance with the current Private Security Industry Act until the new regime is in place. The SIA will continue to work with the Government in establishing a new regulatory regime, based primarily on business registration, supported by individual registration, and the SIA will involve the industry as fully as possible in this process.”
Bobby Logue, Editor of Infologue.com believes that whilst there will be a new independent regulatory regime, the substance of transition of the SIA will be similar to the vision of lighter touch regulation as set out by Ruth Henig at the SIA conference in 2010. (A Common Purpose: Raising Standards In The Private Security Industry )