WIREDGOV

Securing better regulation

News Release issued by the COI News Distribution Service on 22 September 2009

The Security Industry Authority (SIA) is prioritising its use of better regulation principles and has made real progress improving its performance as a regulator, according to a new report published today by the Better Regulation Executive.

The report, part of a series of reviews of national regulators, examined how the SIA matched up to the principles of effective regulation set out by Philip Hampton in 2005. The SIA, which regulates the growing private security industry, has placed a high priority on implementing these principles across their work. The SIA currently licences 300,000 operatives and has approved 631 security companies across the UK.

The report found that:

the SIA’s Approved Contractor Scheme has helped raise standards and encouraged exchange of good practice within the industry;communication with stakeholders, which had been problematic, had improved as the SIA were engaging constructively and proactively with businesses; andcriminality in the industry, whilst not eliminated, had been reduced through the work of the SIA.

The report highlighted that the SIA could further improve performance by integrating risk assessment into strategic planning, improving customer focus and some aspects of communication with stakeholders.

Notes to Editors

The Better Regulation Executive’s full report on the Security Industry Authority can be found at www.bis.gov.uk/ The review took place in January 2009The Security Industry Authority was created in April 2003 under the Private Security Industry Act 2001. Its two key roles are to reduce criminality and improve standards in the security industry.The review team was drawn from the Better Regulation Executive within the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and from government and the regulatory sector, including the NAO, Charity Commission and Trading Standards Institute.The Hampton Implementation Review process, that will examine a total of 31 national regulators, follow two independent reports by Sir Philip Hampton and Professor Richard Macrory on making inspection and enforcement of regulation more effective. The Hampton Review in 2005 - led by Sir Philip Hampton - recommended an end to the one size fits all approach to regulation and that regulators should take a risk-based approach to enforcement and information gathering. Among its findings were that regulators should carry out inspections only when needed and avoid unnecessary form-filling and duplication of effort or information. In 2006 Professor Richard Macrory's review of penalties for failure to comply with regulatory obligations recommended that regulators should focus on outcomes, rather than action. He recommended that sanctions should be aimed at changing the behaviour of non-compliant businesses and eliminating any financial gain from non-compliance.

Examples of how individuals and businesses are benefiting from changes to regulation can be found on www.betterregulation.gov.uk. The site also invites suggestions for what else can be done to reduce red tape.

The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) is building a dynamic and competitive UK economy by: creating the conditions for business success; promoting innovation, enterprise and science; and giving everyone the skills and opportunities to succeed. To achieve this it will foster world-class universities and promote an open global economy. BIS - Investing in our future

Contacts:

BIS Press Office
NDS.BIS@coi.gsi.gov.uk

Joe Upton
Phone: 020 7215 5959
Joe.Upton@bis.gsi.gov.uk