SIA consults on proposed licence applications criteria

Image courtesy SIA

The SIA uses its licensing criteria when it makes decisions on who is fit and proper to hold an SIA licence. An SIA licence allows people to lawfully perform specific activities in the private security industry. The SIA publishes the criteria in a document called Get Licensed.

The changes proposed by the SIA represent a further toughening up of the criteria on criminality. They will also provide greater transparency on the wider ‘fit and proper’ test that all applicants and licence holders must meet.

The SIA is asking for views on these proposed changes.

The main changes proposed are:

• Adding new offences to the list of offences that the SIA considers relevant for licencing decisions including modern slavery, people trafficking and upskirting offences.
• Tightening up the rules around refusing a licence where an applicant has any criminal record that includes a sexual, child abuse or neglect offence, or a prison sentence of 48 months or more – the SIA already looks closely at the risks of applications involving these offences, and is proposing to refuse all such applications in future unless the applicant can convince the SIA that they are not a public protection risk.
• Requiring applicants who have lived overseas in the last ten years to provide an overseas criminal record check when they apply for an SIA licence. At present this requirement only covers the last five years. The change brings the SIA’s rules more in line with the criminality checks required for UK visas where someone will be working in education, health or social care.
• Making clearer the broad range of other information that the SIA may take into account when deciding whether someone is ‘fit and proper’ to hold a licence – for example for domestic violence orders or being subject to misconduct or other disciplinary proceedings.

The changes are intended to enhance public protection. The SIA expects these proposals to affect only a very small number of current licence holders, but the impact will be significant for those who are no longer able to hold a licence as a result.

Commenting on the consultation, Tim Archer, the SIA’s Director of Licensing and Standards said today: "There are currently around 440,000 individuals holding an SIA licence playing a vital role in keeping the public safe. As the Private Security Industry is increasingly asked to take on a wider role in protecting the public, public trust and confidence in private security is more important than ever.

"As the regulator, a key priority of the SIA is to ensure those who should not have a licence to work in private security are not permitted to. Although the current criteria have not been substantially changed for some years, the SIA has taken a more robust approach to considering individual sexual and child abuse and neglect offences since 2021. We have also considered the Angiolini Inquiry findings from 2024 which proposed a much more risk-averse approach to police vetting in relation to sexual offences.

"Our proposals will strengthen our already robust processes and support the drive to improve standards in the private security industry.

"They will also provide greater transparency to the licensing decision process and help anyone applying for a licence to be clear before they apply about what we mean by ‘Fit and Proper’ in terms of the standards and characteristics we require."

The consultation will run for 10 weeks and will close at 11.59pm on 20th May 2025.

The SIA will review responses to this consultation carefully. Final proposals will be submitted to Home Office Ministers for approval and publication. The SIA will issue guidance and information to licence holders and applicants in good time before the changes come into effect.

To learn more: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/proposed-changes-to-the-sias-licensing-criteria-get-licensed