Home Office backs ACS but detail yet to emerge

On Thursday 12 January, Home Office minister Paul Goggins (pictured) confirmed the Government's intention to introduce an Approved Contractor Scheme (ACS) for the private sector, but much of the fine detail is still missing - to the dismay of many practitioners.

In a written statement to the House of Commons, Goggins revealed that, following the public consultation period which ended on 17 November 2005, the ACS will include elements from two of the Options listed in the consultation paper submitted to the industry - namely Option 3 (which requires security companies to possess one or more of a list of specified existing standards) and Option 4, which would introduce a new standard defined by the Security Industry Authority (SIA).

An official press announcement issued by the SIA following Goggins' delivery in the House reads as follows: "Options 3 and 4 were the most popular in the consultation, with over 90% of respondents expressing a preference for one of them. By adopting a mixture of the two Options, security companies that have already achieved existing standards can take credit for that, without requiring other companies - particularly smaller ones - to go through that procedure."

Companies achieving ACS status will be permitted to deploy "a small percentage" of their security personnel who are not yet licensed by the SIA, but who have completed their training, attained the necessary qualifications and have had their licence application accepted by the SIA for processing. While the percentage remains unspecified, it is believed to refer to the 15% envisaged in the RIA.

In his own statement, Goggins admitted that there is "still a lot of detail to be worked through", including the decision on ACS fee structures for guarding contractors and the exact implementation date. Meetings between the SIA and Home Office officials on Monday 23 January and on Monday 30 January were aimed at thrashing out the final details.

The ongoing delay is causing great anxiety among many of the guarding companies and their clients. "Frankly, the statement issued by the Home Office is far less than we expected," said BSIA chief executive David Dickinson (pictured) in an interview with SMT. "We were given to understand that a decision on the ACS would be made before Christmas, and fully expected that decision to spell out what the ACS would look like. While welcome for what it does say, Paul Goggins' latest statement leaves the industry, its clients and the general public very much up in the air."

Commenting on the likely impact upon service provision, and the fundamental implications for security services within UK plc, Dickinson added: "UK industry and commerce is reliant on guarding contractors for its safety and security. The detail of the ACS needs to be in place now if there is to be any hope of those companies qualified to ‘fast-track' into the scheme meeting the March 20 deadline. If the detail is not in place by then, the implications are grave indeed."

At worst, suggests Dickinson, security companies will have to decide between the option of deploying officers without licences, and thus break the law. "Alternatively, they'll have to withdraw services altogether and leave their clients vulnerable. That dilemma can be avoided by immediate and decisive action on the part of the Home Office."

The original thinking was to have the ACS up-and-running by 1 October last year. Much of the industry's business planning for the 18-month period prior to that date was based on this assumption.

• On Thursday 19 January, 27 security companies - considered by the SIA to be at "high risk" of not meeting their legal obligations under the Terms and Conditions of regulation - were visited by SIA investigators during ‘Operation Forewarn'.

Senior employees of each company have been requested to read and sign a compliance notice acknowledging that they understand the Terms and Conditions of the Private Security Industry Act 2001, their obligations under the Act and the consequences of not complying with the law.

• As Security Management Today passed for press, the latest licensing statistics issued by the SIA on its Internet site made for interesting reading.

In terms of security officers, the number of qualified people stands at 74,198. There are 37,386 applications on the SIA's system, with 20,165 licences having been granted and 240 refused. In addition, 4,325 licences have been granted for Cash-and-Valuables-in-Transit operatives.