SIA chief executive to stand down in wake of Government Delivery Review

06 Nov 08

An official statement issued by the Security Industry Authority at 2.00 pm today quotes Baroness Ruth Henig, chairman of the Regulator. The Baroness commented: “Mike, the SIA board and I came to the mutual agreement that Mike would leave the organisation next week. The board and I are grateful to him for all his hard work and dedication to the development of the SIA in the past year, and we wish him well.”

Wilson was appointed to the post in 2007 as a replacement for John Saunders.

“An interim chief executive will join us shortly until a permanent chief executive is recruited in the New Year,” continued the Baroness. “Our delivery to our Stakeholders will not be disrupted. Working closely with the industry and our other partners, we shall continue to contribute to public protection through regulation.”

Statement from the Home Office

Wilson’s exit follows a statement by Home Office minister Alan Campbell in the House of Commons earlier today in which it was explained that the Government had “become aware of some failings in the SIA’s compliance with Home Office requirements for the security clearance of SIA employees”. It emerged that a number of agency workers employed by the Regulator had not received the appropriate security clearances before commencing their roles.

The full ministerial statement reads as follows:

The Security Industry Authority

“In its recent report Regulating the Security Industry published on 17 October 2008, the National Audit Office concluded that as a regulator the SIA is an effective organisation. Notwithstanding that, the Home Office has had concerns about the SIA’s organisational capabilities. Drawing on the model of Government Departmental Capability Reviews, in agreement with the chair of the SIA, an independent Delivery Review has recently been conducted looking at the leadership and management of the organisation.

“The SIA board is currently considering how to respond fully to the recommendations of the review, and I have asked that they report to me with a detailed action plan within the next two weeks.

“With the Delivery Review underway, we have become aware of some failings in the SIA’s compliance with Home Office requirements for security clearance for SIA employees. Home Office guidance issued to the SIA stipulates that no person should be employed, in a permanent or temporary capacity, without appropriate confirmed security clearance.

“All permanent SIA staff have confirmed security clearance. It became clear, however, that some agency workers had not received appropriate security clearance before commencing employment with the SIA. The SIA currently has 38 agency workers.

“As soon as the Home Office became aware of the issue, it asked the SIA to take immediate action. All those without confirmed security clearance were removed from SIA premises and had all access to SIA systems withdrawn. Security checks are now being conducted and as of 9.00 am this morning, 32 had confirmed clearance and the remaining 6 were pending.

“The SIA has a commercial delivery partner, LDL – a subsidiary of BT. LDL is responsible, through BT, for ensuring security clearance of its staff. The Home Office’'s Departmental Security Unit is satisfied that LDL recruitment and clearance procedures are robust.

“There are significant safeguards in place within the SIA to ensure that decisions to award licences are taken appropriately and not open to abuse. No single individual can decide to award a licence. Two individuals must be involved in each decision – one from the SIA, who takes the ultimate decision to award a licence, and one from the LDL.

“These individuals are based in separate sites in different cities.

"Managers sample decisions taken every day to ensure SIA procedures are followed and an external audit of decisions is also undertaken. Nevertheless, I have asked the SIA to review urgently a targeted sample of decisions taken by any individual for whom the SIA did not have confirmed security clearance, whether or not that individual is still working for the SIA.

“The Home Office’s Departmental Security Unit has advised that the SIA’s security checking procedures are now fully compliant with Home Office standards.

“The Home Office will work closely with the chair and board of the SIA as they respond to the Delivery Review recommendations to ensure that similar problems do not arise in the future. Plans are being made for an interim chief executive to be appointed once discussions between the current chief executive and the SIA Board about his imminent departure are concluded.”

Industry view from the BSIA

In the wake of the announcement, the British Security Industry Association has welcomed the Home Office's approach.

BSIA chief executive David Dickinson told info4security: “I welcome the statement by Alan Campbell MP and fully support the action which the Home Office and the SIA Board are taking in the aftermath of the delivery review which was recently undertaken. I also welcome the decision to appoint immediately an interim chief executive following next week’s departure of Mike Wilson as SIA chief executive. The BSIA will work in a strongly co-operative and supportive way with the new chief executive and the team in the future.”

Dickinson went on to say: “While clearly there have been problems at the SIA, these in no way detract from our belief that regulation has been – and will continue to be – of fundamental importance to the ongoing improvement of standards in the industry, and the continuous enhancement of the skills and competencies of our workforce.

“BSIA members have been at the forefront of such progress over many years, and are fully committed to a process of continued improvement for the years to come.”

Industry view from IPSA

Justin Bentley, the chief executive of the International Professional Security Association, has also offered his views on Mike Wilson's resignation.

"While I cannot speak for the whole security industry, in my personal opinion the resignation of Michael Wilson is a loss to the industry. Mike took over as chief executive at a time when procedures had been established and the ill-fated move of the application processing contract had already been decided. His job was always going to suffer a rough start, but he willingly took charge while simultaneously taking a look at the rationale of decisions made previously. Only a short time before the announcement of his resignation, one of my colleagues was pointing out that he was the first person he had heard from the SIA acknowledge that they would have been better to consider licensing companies first."

Bentley added: "As a Government body (non-departmental), it was inevitable that, when some significant procedural mistakes came to light, somebody would have to take the blame. Mike has taken responsibility for something that, while unlikely to be his direct responsibility, did as far as I understand occur under his management. In the commercial world, it may have been “get it put right”, but in the world of politics it's “clear your desk”. The industry has now lost a person who was willing to listen and work with it and who would give straight answers - as he demonstrated again last Thursday at the excellent Safer Doors Conference. Mike was showing the kind of ‘open Government’ approach to which other departments only pay lip service."

In finishing his statement, Bentley commented: "It's now my hope that the Home Office and the SIA Board look to appoint somebody equally prepared to engage constructively with the industry, particularly at this time of economic uncertainty and financial constraints."

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