Private Security Industry Act 2001 (Amendments to Schedule 2) Order 2007

I am grateful to both noble Lords for their kind comments of welcome to this order. The noble Viscount, Lord Bridgeman, is right to ask about its appropriateness and proportionality. We have consulted extensively on this. There is support across the security industry sector, and business, too, largely accepts the measure as the right way to proceed. Following the passing of the Act, there was some debate about whether it had been sufficiently fine-tuned and whether, for some businesses, it could have been an excuse for over-zealous regulation. We think that we have that right, and the messages that we are getting back say exactly the same. I can tell noble Lords that a small business impact assessment was carried out before the decision was made to extend the measure to Scotland. Therefore, we think that it is appropriate and that we have the balance right in terms of proportionality for enforcement. The noble Lord, Lord Dholakia, asked about casinos. My understanding is that casinos are already exempted, so the order need not apply and it is therefore entirely workable. There is no explanation other than that. On Question, Motion agreed to.