That the Grand Committee do report to the House that is has considered the Private Security Industry Act 2001 (Amendment) (Northern Ireland) Order 2009.

Relevant Document: 22nd Report from the Joint Committee on Statutory Instruments.

My Lords, I beg to move that the draft Private Security Industry Act 2001 (Amendment) (Northern Ireland) Order 2009, which was laid before this House on 21 May 2009, be considered. I shall also speak to the draft Private Security Industry Act 2001 (Amendments to Schedule 2) Order 2009, a copy of which was laid before this House on 12 October 2009. I welcome this opportunity to put these proposals before the Committee today. I will deal with the detail of each order in turn but, before doing so, I will provide context for the proposed amendments.

The fifth report of the Independent Monitoring Commission stated that there was direct evidence of paramilitary involvement in the private security industry in Northern Ireland, resulting in many firms suffering from extortion. It stated that the current, temporary control regime in Northern Ireland was less stringent than the regime in England, Wales and Scotland and was insufficient in preventing paramilitary infiltration of the industry.

The Northern Ireland Affairs Committee identified the potential for exploitation of the industry by paramilitaries and organised criminals. It recommended that the regulation of the private security industry in Northern Ireland be dealt with as a matter of priority. It also identified the need for appropriate training and registration of door supervisors and noted the problems with the form of self-regulation that is encouraged by some, but not all, councils throughout Northern Ireland.

These reports led the Government to undertake a thorough review of the private security industry in Northern Ireland. A consultation document entitled Regulating the Private Security Industry in Northern Ireland was circulated to organisations representing the private security industry, political parties, relevant local authority organisations and a wide variety of other organisations that have an interest in or avail themselves of private security services. This document set out the options for regulation and highlighted the Government’s preference to extend the remit of the Security Industry Authority, the regulatory body in England, Wales and Scotland, to Northern Ireland.

The Government took into account all comments and views in relation to developing a new scheme of regulation for the industry in Northern Ireland. After carefully considering the options for regulation, the Government believe that, on balance, extending the remit of the SIA is the right way forward. The SIA is the organisation responsible for regulating the private security industry in Great Britain. It is an independent body reporting to the Home Secretary under the terms of the Private Security Industry Act 2001.

The aims of the SIA are to regulate the private security industry effectively and to reduce criminality, raise standards and recognise quality service. The SIA has two main duties. One is the compulsory licensing of individuals undertaking designated activities within the private security industry; the other is to manage the voluntary approved contractor scheme, which measures private security suppliers against independently assessed criteria.

SIA licensing covers manned guarding—including security guarding, door supervision, close protection, cash and valuables in transit, and public space surveillance using CCTV—key holding and vehicle immobilising. Licensing ensures that private security operatives are fit and proper persons who are suitably trained and qualified to do their job. The approved contractor scheme introduced a set of operational and performance standards for suppliers of private security services. Those organisations that meet these standards are awarded approved contractor status. This accreditation provides purchasers of private security services with independent proof of the contractor’s commitment to quality.

Using the SIA to regulate the private security industry in Northern Ireland will ensure that standards are equal throughout the UK and will increase the ability of Northern Ireland companies to operate and compete on a national basis. The SIA has the skills to support the regulatory system and offer the most cost-effective solution. The authority’s multi-agency approach to compliance and enforcement activity sits well with the methods currently used in Northern Ireland and can be successful in tackling the problems of organised crime within the industry.

New regulatory arrangements under the SIA will represent a major step forward, for both the industry and the people of Northern Ireland. Extending the remit of the SIA will achieve the regulation that the industry wants and enhance safeguards for those operating legitimately, while targeting those acting outside the law. The overarching aim is to reduce offending in the private security industry by protecting people from crime and giving the public greater confidence in the industry.

The aim of the Northern Ireland Office is that the majority of activities that are currently designated under the 2001 Act in relation to England, Wales and Scotland will be designated in Northern Ireland from December 2009 onwards. The effect of the designation will be that these activities can be carried out legally in Northern Ireland only with an SIA licence. One important exception to this will be the work of in-house door supervisors, which will not be designated in Northern Ireland until April 2010, although it is currently a designated activity in the rest of the United Kingdom.

As part of the legislative process for the draft Private Security Industry Act 2001 (Amendment) (Northern Ireland) Order 2009, which is made under Section 85 of the Northern Ireland Act 1998, the Minister gave evidence to the ad hoc committee of the Northern Ireland Assembly. Having listened to the committee’s concerns about the effective date for licensing of in-house door supervisors from 1 December 2009, he agreed that individuals in this sector will now be expected to have a licence by April 2010.

I turn briefly now to the detail of the provisions contained in the two draft orders. The technical amendments contained in the two draft orders are needed to ensure that the 2001 Act takes account of Northern Ireland legislation and operates in Northern Ireland as it does in the rest of the United Kingdom. I will deal first with the detail of the draft Private Security Industry Act 2001 (Amendment) (Northern Ireland) Order 2009. As I have previously advised, this order is made under Section 85 of the Northern Ireland Act 1998. An order making amendments thus has to be approved by the affirmative resolution procedure. It is to seek that approval that I have brought this measure before the Committee this afternoon.

As required under Section 85(4) of the Northern Ireland Act 1998, the draft order was considered by the Northern Ireland Assembly and its report was published on 29 June. The Government have welcomed proposals from all stakeholders, including the Northern Ireland Assembly, during implementation and have endeavoured to be adaptable while crucially not losing sight of the benefits of a consistent UK-wide approach. The Northern Ireland Assembly did not specifically recommend any modification of the content of the draft order and, as such, none has been made.

The first amendment of the draft order relates to an exemption in Section 4 of the 2001 Act for those working in certain sports grounds for any requirement to hold a licence under the Act. The exemption does not currently apply in Northern Ireland, as it is defined by reference to the Safety of Sports Grounds Act 1975 and the Fire Safety and Safety of Places of Sport Act 1987, neither of which extends to Northern Ireland. The amendment will extend the exemption to Northern Ireland by adding references to the equivalent Northern Ireland legislation, the Safety of Sports Grounds (Northern Ireland) Order 2006.

The second amendment relates to Schedule 2, which lists the various activities that can be designated under the 2001 Act. One of the activities listed in Schedule 2 is the work of door supervisors or other security personnel in licensed premises. The definition of “licensed premises” in the schedule currently refers only to licensed premises in England, Wales and Scotland. The amendment will add references to licensed premises in Northern Ireland, ensuring that door supervisors in Northern Ireland will be subject to the same licensing requirements as apply to door supervisors working in the rest of the United Kingdom.

A copy of the draft Private Security Industry Act 2001 (Amendments to Schedule 2) Order 2009 was laid before the House on 12 October 2009. The purpose of the instrument is to amend Schedule 2 of the 2001 Act. As I have explained, Schedule 2 lists the activities that may be designated under the 2001 Act. In addition, it sets out a number of exceptions to the licensing regime. The instrument covered by this memorandum will amend Schedule 2 to take account of Northern Ireland legislation by adding a number of new exceptions to the licensing regime and by amending the definition of roads, local authorities and licensed premises used in the schedule.

The 2001 Act makes provision for the Secretary of State to amend this schedule. Such amendments have to be approved by the affirmative resolution procedure. It is to seek that approval that I have brought this measure before the Committee today. The effect will be that the licensing regime under the Act will operate in Northern Ireland as it does in the rest of the United Kingdom. In particular, it will ensure that the requirement to hold a licence for manned guarding does not catch certain prison and police-related activities carried out in Northern Ireland; that the requirement to hold a licence for activities involving the immobilisation of vehicles does not capture certain police-related activities or activities carried out by those acting for the Northern Ireland Court Service; and that the requirement to hold a licence for activities involving the restriction and removal of vehicles does not capture certain police-related activities or activities carried out by those acting for local authorities, a Northern Ireland department or the Northern Ireland Court Service.

The order will limit the requirement that certain door supervisors working in licensed premises hold an SIA licence to cover times only when alcohol is being sold or entertainment is taking place. It will also ensure that those working as door supervisors in licensed premises that are being used for bingo or theatrical performances or for showing films are not required to hold a door supervisor licence. Finally, it will make a minor technical amendment to ensure that the definition of roads and local authorities in Schedule 2 are correct for Northern Ireland.

The private security sector is one on which many of us rely for our personal security and safety and for the security of our business, our property and our possessions. SIA regulation is tried and tested and robust. By introducing it in Northern Ireland in a way that is consistent with the rest of the United Kingdom, the Government believe that it will successfully discourage criminal activity within the industry and provide further opportunities for local companies. The minor and technical amendments proposed to the 2001 Act by these instruments will ensure appropriate and proportionate consistency. I commend the orders to the Committee.

My Lords, I thank the Minister for that lengthy and carefully thought through explanation of the orders that we are debating. I support them in principle. I declare an interest as a consultant to a security firm based in Whitehall. I took part in all the debates during the passage of the Bill in 2001, so I am familiar with and confident about the SIA procedure. We debated the Bill long and hard in lots of detail and got a number of concessions from and agreements with the Government. I felt that it was a good Bill by the time it was finished.

I made a nuisance of myself about guards and supervisors in relation to sport. I remember the argument about major golf tournaments, hockey tournaments or other tournaments having to have supervisors, superintendents or whatever one cares to call them. Clubs and people promoting these games would not have been able to afford the cost because in order to get an SIA licence you have to do a considerable amount of training, take exams and so on, and somebody has to pay for that. I would like to hear from the Minister that amateur sport, if using amateur, unpaid monitors or stewards, does not come under the SIA regime. I brought professional golf back to Northern Ireland in the 1990s for the first time post-IRA and ended up with the British PGA Senior Open being played at Portrush, where we had thousands of people. Every green and tee has to have stewards. If events have to pay for stewarding at the level required by the SIA, they will disappear. I would like to be encouraged to believe that they have been excepted.

Paragraph 4.4—

My Lords, I shall go back to my introduction and the latter part of my few words. Paragraph 4.4 of the Explanatory Memorandum to the Private Security Industry Act order says:

“The aim of the Home Office and the NIO is that the majority of activities that are currently designated under the 2001 Act in relation to England and Wales and Scotland will be designated in Northern Ireland”.

The word “majority” slightly puzzled me. I wondered what the exceptions were and what had been omitted. Apart from that, we should welcome the movement of the SIA into Northern Ireland and hope that it will be successful when operating there.

I, too, thank the Minister for introducing these orders. Policing the private security industry can be very problematic, particularly given the special circumstances of Northern Ireland. Indeed, in the murkier parts of the industry it is sometimes difficult to distinguish between protection rackets on the one hand and legitimate security activities on the other—hence the need for these orders.

I should like to ask the Minister about some of the recommendations of the report from the Northern Ireland Assembly. Although I recognise that none of the Assembly’s recommendations required a change to the orders, we hope that the Minister can say something about the Government’s response to those recommendations. In addition, is she satisfied that the SIA will be able to cope with the additional workload that will come as a result of the extension to Northern Ireland? Will there be any additional short-term funding to help the SIA as it expands its activities? Do the Government still intend to press ahead with implementation in December, as I think the Minister confirmed? As we know, the Assembly report recommended slowing down the process of extending to Northern Ireland the scheme that exists here. It would be helpful to know of any further discussions that have taken place in relation to this matter. Again, that is particularly important given the Assembly’s concern in relation to the costs of the scheme.

One major concern of the Assembly committee was the high cost—£245—of obtaining a licence for door staff compared with current local arrangements, which cost around £30. However, the report states:

“Time constraints do not allow the Committee to enter into an investigation into the differences. But differences there are and we feel that it is unwise to make decisions on the basis of such disputed information and that this argues further for a slow down in decision making until a fuller consideration of these issues has taken place. ‘Costs’ are an extremely important consideration for all of the stakeholders.

The Committee in the timescale available has not been able to make a judgment on whether the local schemes are comparable in terms of quality with the SIA delivered arrangements. More importantly we do not have reliable evidence on the comparable effectiveness and value-for-money of the main competing options and on which is of best value to the public purse”.

Given the concern expressed by the Assembly committee with regard to costs—an issue that is particularly important to businesses in the current economic situation—will the Government consider a delay in the implementation of the scheme to allow the Assembly to investigate this matter fully?

My final point relates to the Assembly’s concern that it did not have sufficient time to scrutinise the order in as much detail as it would have liked. Will the Minister give consideration to extending the length of time for orders to be scrutinised or, given that the Assembly’s recesses do not always coincide with those of Parliament, will she give a commitment to amend Section 85 of the Northern Ireland Act to qualify that the 60-day period does not include days when the Assembly is not sitting?

I thank noble Lords for their contributions. I start by responding to the noble Lord, Lord Glentoran, who wanted reassurance on aspects of an SIA licence regime regarding sports events. I hope that I shall be able to reassure him by saying that there will be no need for an SIA licence at a sporting event provided that any of the following conditions apply. The first is where the security staff are in-house and not contract staff and where the venue is not licensed to sell alcohol or provide regulated entertainment. The second is where the staff are volunteers. The noble Lord, Lord Glentoran, who takes an interest in sport in Northern Ireland, talked about volunteers at sporting events and so on. Within HMRC guidelines, such volunteers cannot receive payment or benefits in kind but they can be paid reasonable expenses. Thirdly, if a certain part of a sports ground or stand is already covered by a safety certificate, there is no requirement for any in-house staff to have a licence, even if they work in an area with a licence to sell alcohol or provide entertainment. I hope that those three points will give the noble Lord, Lord Glentoran, the reassurance that he seeks.

I turn now to the remarks of the noble Lord, Lord Smith of Clifton, who raised a number of issues on cost and timing. He referred to the importance of costs and to the ability of the SIA to cope with the expected applications. There is a cost to individuals associated with licensing, but there is no desire to impose unnecessary hardship. The cost of a licence application is reasonable and justifiable. It is also consistent with the charge levied in the rest of the United Kingdom. This needs to be viewed in context. Most licences cost £245 and last for three years; at slightly more than £1.50 a week for a licence, that is a comparatively small price to pay to provide a level of reassurance to the general public that those operating in the private security industry are vetted and trained professionally to a high standard.

The noble Lord, Lord Smith of Clifton, was also concerned about the SIA’s ability to cope with the expected applications. I hope that I reassure him when I say that the SIA is currently receiving and processing some 4,500 to 5,000 applications per week in Great Britain. The forecast for the total licensable population of Northern Ireland is some 9,500, which represents approximately 3 per cent of the total UK licensable population. The SIA has reassured us that it does not feel that that would cause any notable strain on the licensing processes. The SIA aims to process 80 per cent of all licence applications within 40 days. The most recent available statistic showed that, in September, it processed 98 per cent of all properly completed licence applications within that timeframe.

The noble Lord also raised the issue of the Assembly’s consideration of the order. The Minister considered the points raised by the Assembly committee and took on board concerns raised about the time given to consider the draft order. We met the statutory obligations in regard to this, but the point is taken that it was a matter of concern for the committee. The Minister listened to the concerns raised by the ad hoc committee about the timing of the legislation and has decided that in-house door supervisors will now be expected to have a licence by April 2010, not December 2009.

With that, I hope that I have answered noble Lords’ questions.