Private Security Industry Act 2001 (Amendment) (Northern Ireland) Order 2009

I thank noble Lords for their contributions. I start by responding to the noble Lord, Lord Glentoran, who wanted reassurance on aspects of an SIA licence regime regarding sports events. I hope that I shall be able to reassure him by saying that there will be no need for an SIA licence at a sporting event provided that any of the following conditions apply. The first is where the security staff are in-house and not contract staff and where the venue is not licensed to sell alcohol or provide regulated entertainment. The second is where the staff are volunteers. The noble Lord, Lord Glentoran, who takes an interest in sport in Northern Ireland, talked about volunteers at sporting events and so on. Within HMRC guidelines, such volunteers cannot receive payment or benefits in kind but they can be paid reasonable expenses. Thirdly, if a certain part of a sports ground or stand is already covered by a safety certificate, there is no requirement for any in-house staff to have a licence, even if they work in an area with a licence to sell alcohol or provide entertainment. I hope that those three points will give the noble Lord, Lord Glentoran, the reassurance that he seeks. I turn now to the remarks of the noble Lord, Lord Smith of Clifton, who raised a number of issues on cost and timing. He referred to the importance of costs and to the ability of the SIA to cope with the expected applications. There is a cost to individuals associated with licensing, but there is no desire to impose unnecessary hardship. The cost of a licence application is reasonable and justifiable. It is also consistent with the charge levied in the rest of the United Kingdom. This needs to be viewed in context. Most licences cost £245 and last for three years; at slightly more than £1.50 a week for a licence, that is a comparatively small price to pay to provide a level of reassurance to the general public that those operating in the private security industry are vetted and trained professionally to a high standard. The noble Lord, Lord Smith of Clifton, was also concerned about the SIA’s ability to cope with the expected applications. I hope that I reassure him when I say that the SIA is currently receiving and processing some 4,500 to 5,000 applications per week in Great Britain. The forecast for the total licensable population of Northern Ireland is some 9,500, which represents approximately 3 per cent of the total UK licensable population. The SIA has reassured us that it does not feel that that would cause any notable strain on the licensing processes. The SIA aims to process 80 per cent of all licence applications within 40 days. The most recent available statistic showed that, in September, it processed 98 per cent of all properly completed licence applications within that timeframe. The noble Lord also raised the issue of the Assembly’s consideration of the order. The Minister considered the points raised by the Assembly committee and took on board concerns raised about the time given to consider the draft order. We met the statutory obligations in regard to this, but the point is taken that it was a matter of concern for the committee. The Minister listened to the concerns raised by the ad hoc committee about the timing of the legislation and has decided that in-house door supervisors will now be expected to have a licence by April 2010, not December 2009. With that, I hope that I have answered noble Lords’ questions. Motion agreed.