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October 2026 | Security Regulation, Standards & Public Protection
The Security Industry Authority (SIA) has published its Strategic Plan for 2026 to 2029, setting out an important new direction for the regulation of private security across the United Kingdom. The plan comes at a significant point in the development of the industry, with the SIA preparing to expand its regulatory role beyond individual security operatives & businesses to include premises & events under Martyn’s Law. At the same time, the regulator is placing a stronger emphasis on the quality of security provision, professional standards, public confidence & the responsibility of the industry itself to drive improvement. The SIA’s purpose remains centred on public protection, with its new strategic direction focused on keeping people & places safe & secure through effective regulation.
A New Phase for the SIA
The SIA has been responsible for regulating the UK private security industry for more than 20 years. Established under the Private Security Industry Act 2001, the organisation began licensing individuals in 2004 & launched the Approved Contractor Scheme (ACS) in 2006. Since then, the regulatory framework has developed considerably, with more than 458,000 people across the UK now holding SIA licences.
The regulator states that licensed individuals are vetted through criminal record checks & receive training that includes emergency first aid, basic counter-terrorism awareness & the core requirements of their role. The new strategic plan builds on this established regulatory framework but signals a broader approach, with the SIA intending to focus increasingly on the quality of security services rather than simply whether minimum regulatory requirements have been met.
From Compliance to Quality
One of the most important changes within the new strategy is the SIA’s intention to place greater emphasis on the quality of security provision. The regulator has stated that it will focus on assessing, judging & addressing the quality of security services provided by individual operatives & security businesses.
This means that regulation will increasingly look beyond basic compliance to consider whether security services are being delivered effectively, professionally & to an appropriate standard. The SIA has made clear that it intends to highlight good practice, promote higher standards & identify poor service delivery where necessary. As the regulator explains,
“We will confidently set new improved standards, support those seeking compliance, and enforce without compromise where we need to.”
This represents an important shift in emphasis for the industry, with professionalism, competence, leadership, supervision & service quality becoming increasingly important parts of the regulatory landscape.
Three Strategic Shifts
The SIA’s Strategic Plan identifies three major shifts that will shape its work between 2026 & 2029. The first is to regulate places, meaning premises & events will increasingly fall within the regulator’s responsibilities through Martyn’s Law.
The second is to make regulatory judgements on the quality of security services, moving towards a more qualitative assessment of the way security is actually delivered.
The third is to create one unified organisation, bringing together the SIA’s existing functions, new responsibilities, people & expertise around a common purpose of public protection.
Together, these changes demonstrate that the regulator is preparing for a broader role within the UK’s protective security landscape, with regulation extending beyond individual licence holders to include the environments in which security is provided & the places where members of the public gather.
Regulating Premises & Events
A major development within the strategy is the SIA’s preparation for its role under Martyn’s Law. The regulator is preparing to oversee the requirements placed on premises & events, with the Strategic Plan stating that the SIA is planning for the new regime to commence in Spring 2027, subject to confirmation of the commencement date. The SIA’s initial role will include providing guidance, support & advice as premises & events work towards compliance with the new requirements. The regulator will also establish an inspection regime intended to provide assurance that declared plans & procedures are effective in practice, are being used properly & are understood by the people who rely on them. The SIA has said that it will initially focus on education & support while also working to improve the standards & consistency of preparedness for terrorist harms & incidents.
What Martyn’s Law Means for the Wider Security Landscape
The introduction of responsibilities around premises & events represents a significant development because protective security will no longer be considered solely through the activities of individual security operatives. The SIA’s strategy recognises that owners & operators of premises, event organisers, security businesses, security professionals & other partners all have a role to play in protecting the public. The regulator states that premises & events must do more to ensure that appropriate protective security is in place & working effectively in practice. Security personnel will therefore operate within a wider protective security environment in which preparedness, awareness, risk management & the ability to respond effectively when something goes wrong are increasingly important. The SIA describes its future role as one that will help improve standards across this wider system rather than focusing exclusively on individual licensing.
Strengthening Individual Licensing
Individual licensing will remain at the heart of the SIA’s regulatory responsibilities. The Strategic Plan confirms that the regulator intends to continue strengthening the licensing system, ensuring that vetting decisions & training requirements remain robust while adapting to new risks, policy changes & public expectations. The SIA plans to introduce new standards for mandatory licence-linked qualifications & prerequisite conditions, update entry-level qualifications & refresher content, improve reporting services, introduce a new individual licensing portal on GOV.UK & provide new online regulatory guidance for safety-critical areas of security delivery. The regulator also intends to encourage greater ownership by employers & the wider security industry of the ongoing training, development & post-qualification skills of security staff. The objective is not simply to maintain a licensed workforce, but to support a security workforce that commands greater confidence from employers, premises & the public.
A Stronger Focus on Professional Standards
The new approach places professional standards at the centre of the SIA’s future regulatory activity. The regulator has identified leadership, supervision & management as areas where greater attention will be required, alongside the quality of specific security activities such as searches. This is significant because effective security depends on more than simply having licensed personnel present. The way security teams are managed, supervised, trained & deployed can directly influence the quality of service delivered to the public. The SIA therefore intends to strengthen its approach to quality while maintaining high levels of licensing compliance & customer satisfaction. The long-term ambition is for the public to have greater confidence not only that security personnel are properly licensed, but that the services they provide are professional, competent & effective.
The Future of Security Businesses
The SIA also plans to reset the standards that apply to security businesses. The existing Approved Contractor Scheme has been in place since 2006, & the Strategic Plan explains that the SIA is already designing a replacement business approval scheme. The new approach is intended to place greater emphasis on public protection, integrity, financial probity, quality & competence while recognising different business specialisms.
The SIA also plans to introduce a new digital portal for businesses, create a new register of approved businesses & develop stronger standards around supervision & regulatory guidance. The regulator states that the future approach will place greater emphasis on the quality of service delivery rather than relying solely on binary compliance or conformance.
A New Approach to Buying Security
The strategy also recognises that buyers of private security services have an important role in improving standards. The SIA has stated that buyers should be better equipped to make informed choices about the quality of security providers, with a new register intended to provide more transparent & relevant information about businesses, their operations & their services.
The regulator is also developing a Buyers’ Charter designed to promote responsible procurement of private security services. The SIA’s position is that purchasing decisions should place greater emphasis on quality rather than simply economy, helping to create market conditions in which professional, accountable & high-quality security businesses can thrive.
Investing in People
The SIA acknowledges that none of these ambitions can be achieved without investing in its own people. The regulator expects its workforce to grow significantly over the next three years, particularly as it develops the capacity required for its responsibilities under Martyn’s Law. The SIA is looking for new skills & expertise in areas including protective security, counter-terrorism risk, regulatory judgement & formal guidance. At the same time, it intends to continue developing existing employees through training, professional development & progression opportunities. The Strategic Plan describes the objective of creating a unified organisation with a strong culture of respect, inclusivity & diversity, while attracting high-calibre people from across the UK.
Partnership with the Security Industry
The SIA makes clear that it cannot deliver its strategic ambitions alone. Partnership with the private security industry, premises & event operators, government bodies, policing organisations, devolved administrations & other stakeholders will remain essential. The regulator expects the private security industry itself to take greater ownership of improvement, recognising that the SIA can establish standards & enforce regulation, but the industry must also demonstrate leadership & a commitment to public safety. The Strategic Plan identifies collaboration with industry groups & representative organisations as an important part of this work, with the aim of ensuring that standards remain relevant to the changing environment in which security professionals operate.
Why Public Trust Matters
A central theme running throughout the Strategic Plan is public trust & confidence. The SIA states that people should be able to have confidence in the legitimacy, competence & quality of the private security services they encounter. Security personnel are often among the first people members of the public see when entering a premises or event, meaning their professionalism can have a direct influence on how safe people feel. The SIA cites research showing that 7 in 10 UK adults surveyed agreed that security professionals are necessary to maintain order & improve public safety. The regulator’s future approach therefore aims to strengthen not only compliance, but confidence in the people, businesses & systems responsible for security.
A More Visible Role in Public Protection
The new strategy ultimately represents a broader interpretation of what effective security regulation means. The SIA is moving towards a model in which individuals, businesses, premises & events are considered as interconnected parts of the protective security environment. Its role will increasingly involve setting standards, supporting compliance, inspecting services, making regulatory judgements & enforcing where necessary. The regulator summarises its intended approach through three principles:
“confident in setting standards, supportive in seeking compliance, uncompromising in enforcing when necessary.”
This approach is intended to strengthen public protection while encouraging the industry to take greater responsibility for the quality of the services it provides.
What the Strategic Plan Means for the Industry
For security professionals, the direction of travel is clear. Licensing standards will continue to matter, but the quality of the service delivered will matter increasingly as well. For security businesses, there is likely to be greater scrutiny of competence, integrity, supervision, management & service quality. For organisations responsible for premises & events, the introduction of Martyn’s Law will create a new area of responsibility around preparedness for terrorist attacks. For buyers of security, the emphasis on quality & informed procurement means that choosing a security provider will increasingly involve looking beyond basic compliance. Across all of these areas, the SIA’s objective is to raise standards & strengthen confidence in the protective security environment.
Looking Ahead to 2029
The SIA’s Strategic Plan for 2026 to 2029 marks another important stage in the development of UK private security regulation. The organisation is moving from a model focused primarily on regulating individuals & businesses towards a wider protective security role that includes premises & events. At the same time, it is seeking to raise expectations around the quality, professionalism & effectiveness of private security services.
The SIA’s ambition is ultimately about more than compliance. It is about creating a regulatory environment in which security professionals are properly trained & supported, businesses are accountable for the quality of their services, premises & events are better prepared, buyers can make informed decisions & the public can have greater confidence in the security around them. As the SIA states in its Strategic Plan,
“Through our regulation, and the actions of private security operatives, security businesses and owners and operators of venues across the UK, the public will be able to go about their daily lives with increased confidence in those tasked with looking after their safety and security.”