Commentary on Sections Private security industry Section 43: Extension of approval scheme
203.Section 43 amends the 2001 Act to extend the SIA’s Approved Contractor Scheme (to be known as the “Approval Scheme”), provided under section 15 of the 2001 Act, to enable in-house private security services to apply for approved status.
204.The SIA is required under section 14 of the 2001 Act to establish and maintain a register of approved providers of security industry services. The register has to contain particulars of every person who is approved under arrangements which the SIA has to make under section 15 of the 2001 Act. Section 15 provides that approvals must be subject to certain conditions.
205.The SIA carries out its obligations under sections 14 and 15 of the 2001 Act by way of its Approved Contractor Scheme. This is a voluntary scheme, which has been developed in consultation with representatives from the private security industry, under which security providers who satisfactorily meet the agreed standards can obtain approved status. Approved status carries benefits for those contractors who hold it. The amendments made to sections 14 and 15 by section 43 enable approved status to be available to businesses which have in-house security arrangements and wish, for example, to establish their quality. As the scheme will no longer apply only to contractors, it is to be renamed the ‘Approval Scheme’.