Key concessions, but no SIA deadline extension

by Ewan Turney

There will be no extension of the deadline for doorstaff to be Security Industry Authority (SIA) registered but three key concessions have been made in a bid to avert the looming crisis.

Speaking on behalf of Home Office minister Hazel Blearsduring a parliamentary debate, Caroline Flint said the SIA would now "immediately" acknowledge receipt of applications, rather than waiting for payment to clear. It would also now have the capacity to deal with multiple applications from training centres or companies. In a further boost for London doorstaff, the Metropolitan and City of London police have agreed not to prosecute those who have made every effort to comply with the new laws until after 6 June.

Barnsley Central MP Eric Illsley opened the debate voicing concerns over the cost of the licence and training, the delays being experienced in the process and the attitude of the SIA to push on with prosecutions. "I don't subscribe to the theory that enforcement will drive up the number of applications," he said. "If doorstaff are prosecuted, it will preclude them from obtaining a licence."

Illsley claimed that police had recently prosecuted 42 doorstaff in Sheffield for not holding a licence and had found that none of the inspected pubs in Barnsley had registered door supervisors.

"In Barnsley town centre every licensed premises is threatened with closure because there are no door supervisors ­ I see that as unfair and irresponsible. The SIA need to find a way forward unless this is a backdoor method to close town-centre pubs. We need to sort it out ­ for me, it is a complete crisis and disaster."

But parliamentary under-secretary for the Home Office Flint, said that 89% of applications were now being processed within eight weeks and that an average of 500 applications are being received a day. Despite the decision of police in London to implement an eight-week discretionary period, Flint said this was a decision for forces to make at an operational level. "I am not prepared to consistently move the barrier back," she said. "It is important to protect the public."

City police pledge fair approach'

From 11 April to 6 June, Metropolitan & City of London police will take a "fair and proportionate" approach in dealing with doorstaff who have completed their training, have applied for an SIA licence and are in possession of a local authority badge for the area they are working in. The SIA said the discretionary period had "reluctantly" been granted because of fears over public safety due to the "disappointing inaction of door supervisors and the licensed trade".