Home Secretary David Blunkett has appointed Peter Hermitage as chairman of the Security Industry Authority for the next four years

Current Security Industry Authority (SIA) chairman Peter Hermitage – who took over from Molly Meacher on a temporary basis in December last year (‘Meacher resigns chairmanship of Security Industry Authority’, News Update, SMT, January 2004, p7) – has been appointed full-time chairman until 2008 by Home Secretary David Blunkett.

“Peter has done a valuable job as temporary chairman since taking up the post,” commented Blunkett in an official press statement issued by the Home Office. “We’re confident that he’ll continue to provide strong leadership in developing and achieving the very highest standards in the private security industry, and feel assured that he’ll take the lead in establishing the SIA as an effective and thoroughly modern regulator.”

In his role as chairman, Hermitage will continue to be responsible for working alongside SIA chief executive John Saunders and Board Members on the extensive agenda of raising standards in the private security industry, where over 500,000 individuals will require personal licences.

In addition to its job of licensing, the SIA will work with the police and other partners to ensure that any disregard of the new licensing regime is addressed. As a former chief constable (‘Looking at The Bigger Picture’, News Special, SMT, March 2004, pp11-12) Hermitage is no stranger to this aspect of the SIA’s work. “I’ve no doubt that the majority of the industry will do all in its power to comply with regulation,” he told SMT. “Businesses that operate lawfully have every right to expect that those who don’t do so will face some kind of sanction. We’ll adopt an intelligence-led approach to dealing with the bad guys.”

The SIA has gained agreement from the Inland Revenue for the SIA licence fee to be tax deductible. In turn, the Inland Revenue will now update existing tax relief regulations such that the SIA licence fees paid by workers in the private security industry will qualify for the relief.

Security operatives who pay their own licence fee can claim tax relief against taxable income. For a worker paying the basic rate of tax, the relief is worth £41.80, while for those in a higher tax bracket the rate would work out at £76.80.

Source

SMT