Plan to scrap SIA confirmed

Plans to abolish the Security Industry Authority (SIA) as a public body have been confirmed by the government today.

The Cabinet Office has published a list of 192 public bodies it is proposing to scrap, or bring under ministerial or local government control, being dubbed the "Bonfire of the Quangos".

And the SIA, which regulates the private security industry, is among those on the list to be scrapped as a quango.

Under the current laws, door supervisors must have an SIA licence to work in the industry, which costs £245 for three years.

The government has said a "new regulatory regime" will be phased in, which means the private security industry will be expected to be self-regulating.

Under the new regime, it is expected that doorstaff firms will have to carry out CRB checks on new employees to check they are suitable.

But a Home Office spokesman pointed out the current laws around SIA-registered doorstaff would remain until the changes are finalised in Parliament.

The Public Bodies Bill, once passed in Parliament, will allow for the quangos to be abolished.

However, the SIA is due to be kept as a public body in Scotland and Northern Ireland.

The Cabinet Office also announced this morning that the Office of Fair Trading and Competition Commission will merge into a single competition and market authority.