SIA in the spotlight of Better Regulation report

22 Sep 09

The report, published today by the Better Regulation Executive as part of a series of reviews of national regulators, examines how the SIA has thus far matched up to the principles of effective regulation set out by Philip Hampton in 2005.

According to the report, the SIA has placed a high priority on implementing these principles across its work. The Government-approved body currently licences 300,000 operatives and has approved 631 security companies across the UK within its Approved Contractor Scheme.

The report finds that:

• the SIA’s Approved Contractor Scheme has helped raise standards and encourage the exchange of good practice within the industry
• communication with Stakeholders, which had been problematic, has improved as the SIA engages constructively and proactively with businesses
• while not eliminated, criminality in the industry has been reduced through the work of the SIA

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

The report states: “The Review Team found that there were a number of areas, notably about integrating feedback from the industry and intelligence more fully into strategic planning, and working with the industry to develop a more effective approach to improving standards, that need some attention before the SIA can be regarded as fully Hampton compliant. We believe that the SIA is in a strong position to make these changes relatively easily.”

The Review Team outlines a number of “issues for follow-up”. These include:

• The link between high-level risks and the SIA’s strategy for achieving compliance needs to be stronger

“While risk assessment is well integrated into the compliance and enforcement work of the Authority, we were less convinced that a clear analysis of risks and a prioritisation of action against them had been fully integrated into its strategic planning. The SIA Corporate Plan and Business Plan did not in this sense fully reflect the risks that are set out in the SIA’s strategic assessment. We have a number of relevant findings throughout this Report.”

• More customer focus is needed in guidance and other forms of communication

“The SIA faces a number of challenges in communicating with a range of its Stakeholders. The industry itself is diverse, but it also needs to communicate effectively with buyers of security, as well as those individuals who are required to hold licences and are therefore critical to the whole regulatory regime. We found that more customer focus needs to be brought to bear in many of these cases. The SIA has gone some way towards improving the licensing service it provides, but needs to review its strategy for reaching its key audiences in a form that meets their needs.”

• The respective responsibilities of the regulator and the regulated sector – especially regarding standards in the security industry – need to be clarified

“The SIA’s responsibilities in relation to the regulated sector are unusual in comparison with other Hampton regulators. It has a role in improving the industry’s wider standards, as well as providing basic assurances against key risks.

“We found that expectations from the industry on the SIA itself were unrealistic in some areas, and that (notably in key areas like the Approved Contractor Scheme and the training requirements for licences) there is scope for the SIA to set a clearer lead for the industry itself in working towards an accreditation and development framework which meet their needs more fully. We believe that further work with the industry to establish a better understood and accepted division of responsibilities, including more of a shared ownership approach, would serve as an effective way of addressing some of their demands for improved standards.”

• Finding the right balance between work with partners and independent action

“The SIA has a large number of partners with whom it works in improving compliance with the law. There are a number of significant overlaps with the police and local authorities for instance, both of whom share the SIA’s interest in reducing street violence and disorder...

“However, the Review Team believes that the SIA has yet to find the right balance between partnership working, those cases where “direct action” might be appropriate and other cases where indirect leverage through its partners might be used more effectively.”

• The SIA's Enforcement Policy does not give enough clarity on how it reaches enforcement decisions in specific cases

“The SIA needs to give more clarity and transparency on the decisions it makes in deciding on how to tackle non-compliance in specific cases.

“The SIA has publicised details of specific enforcement actions and given a clear public account of its overall approach throught its enforcement website, but we found that its Enforcement Policy does not give enough clarity to businesses and individuals who might be involved in specific enforcement actions.

"More could be said about the way in which the sanctions available to it (including intermediate and informal steps that fall short of prosecution) will be used, and the factors that the SIA will take into account when choosing to take enforcement action. We believe this is key to developing confidence in the regulatory regime.”

SIA chief executive Bill Butler said: “I very much welcome the findings of the review. This positive report reflects the progress we have made and the work we have undertaken to achieve our goals.

“We have already made many improvements, but of course there is more to be done. We will continue to address the areas highlighted by the Better Regulation Executive as we strive to further improve our performance as a regulator.”

The review took place in January this year. Members of the Review Team were drawn from the Better Regulation Executive within the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, from Government and from the regulatory sector, and included representatives of the NAO, the Charity Commission and the Trading Standards Institute.

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