Corporate report

SIA business plan: 2026 to 2027

Updated 7 July 2026

Chief Executive’s foreword

Michelle Russell, SIA Chief Executive

This year is the first year of our new Strategic Plan for 2026-2029, setting out how we will achieve our purpose to keep people and places safe and secure by regulating the private security industry and venues across the UK.

This business plan makes clear what we will deliver in the year ahead against the four priorities set out in our new strategy:

• invest in our people
• continue to strengthen individual licensing
• reset security business standards
• prepare for and deliver regulation under Martyn’s Law

Our work across the organisation to deliver these four priorities will improve the standards and quality of private security services and also enhance protective security at premises and events across the UK.

A significant change to our work will be the focus on quality and standards of private security provision across the UK. The standards we regulate against directly affect the provision of public protection and public safety at ground level in the front line. This change will be seen in how we ensure we set and make decisions which apply robust and rigorous standards for licensing of individuals working in private security. This is an integral part of our regulatory responsibilities. Our inspection work will change to address quality not just compliance, alongside designing and driving out training malpractice in entry-level qualifications.

We are in the process of delivering a new approach to business standards to improve trust and confidence in private security businesses. We will ensure the new business approvals scheme being designed can easily move into a future mandatory business licensing scheme. Through both we will drive out bad actors who undermine good industry standards and create risks to public safety. We will support those who operate lawfully and put public safety and quality at the centre of their operations. Strengthening both individual and business standards in private security will lead to greater trust and confidence in it by buyers, and those who partner with or depend on security, including policing.

We will also be counting down to the commencement of Martyn’s Law, in what is the critical year in the implementation period so we can take up our duties as regulator as soon as the legislation is commenced, expected to be in Spring 2027. Our priorities this year will be building the online digital service platforms, recruiting our new teams and working with premises and events to prepare.

At the end of this year we will be ready to expand our remit beyond regulation of the private security sector, to ensuring places and events are better prepared for and protected against terrorist acts. This positions us as regulator as a key partner in the national counter terrorism landscape and brings new statutory and public agencies locally and nationally across the UK to partner with.

Our work is only possible and effective with the right people, in the right roles at the SIA, with the right skills. We remain indebted to our hard-working staff. As we grow significantly across the UK this year, and invest in our workforce, we will ensure we retain a one organisation culture that brings together our people and work across Martyn’s Law and private security.

Everything we seek to do is aimed at building public trust and confidence in private security, and safety and security at premises and events. We will rebase our measures of public trust and confidence early in the year with new research and surveys to ensure we measure the outcomes and impact of our actions this and in future years.

On behalf of myself, our new Chair, Mike Cunningham, and all our Board, I would like to extend our gratitude to all our SIA staff who work so hard and are committed to our public protection purpose, as well as a welcome to all those who will join us this year. We also thank in advance all our stakeholders and partners who we will work with to deliver this year.

Improved public safety is maximised when the regulator, the private security industry, venues and event operators, buyers, government and other statutory partners all play their part, respecting each other’s roles but working together effectively in partnership; ultimately all with the aim of keeping people and places across the UK safe and secure.

Introduction

Our purpose

We keep people and places safe and secure by regulating the private security industry and venues across the UK.

As we prepare to take on our responsibilities as the new regulator for Martyn’s Law, we have refreshed our corporate purpose. We want to focus on improving standards in protective security. We also want to increase public trust and confidence in security personnel and protective security at premises and events, as well as in the regulator and the regulatory regime.

Our strategic aims

We have two strategic aims:

1. Improve the standards and quality of private security services.
2. Enhance protective security at premises and events across the UK.

Our regulatory role

We were established under the Private Security Industry Act 2001 to contribute to public protection by setting and improving standards in the regulated private security industry.

Our statutory responsibilities under the Private Security Industry Act 2001 are:

• licensing people who do certain jobs in the private security industry
• approving private security companies who wish to be part of a voluntary Approved Contractor Scheme and maintaining a register of them
• conducting inspections of those holding licences and approvals and taking enforcement action where necessary
• monitoring the activities of those supplying private security services -setting and approving standards of conduct, training, and supervision
• making recommendations on ways to improve standards within the private security industry

We are also the regulator for the Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act 2025, known as Martyn’s Law. This requires certain public premises and events to be prepared and ready to keep people safe in the event of a terrorist attack.

Our statutory responsibilities under the Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act 2025 will be:

• receiving notifications and compliance documents from premises and events in scope of Martyn’s Law
• assessing whether those premises and events are complying with Martyn’s Law requirements, and where appropriate providing them with compliance advice
• preparing and issuing guidance including how we propose to exercise our functions and use our new powers
• taking enforcement action where necessary to bring premises and events into compliance, including issuing compliance notices, restriction notices, and financial penalties
• keeping under review the effectiveness of the requirements of the Act in reducing the risk of harm to individuals and the vulnerability of premises to acts of terrorism

Context

The context in which we will deliver our statutory functions is changing. Our strategic plan provides additional detail. To fulfil our purpose, we need to make three strategic shifts which our staff and stakeholders will see over the coming three-year period.

1. Regulate places: start regulating places (premises and events), not just the private security personnel who work at them, by bringing premises and events under our regulation through Martyn’s Law.
2. Make regulatory judgements on the quality of security services: assess, judge, and address the quality of security services provided by individual operatives and security businesses: highlight good practice, promote higher standards, and call out poor service delivery. We will ensure our intervention has impact through qualitative regulatory judgements and expertise in the decisions we make.
3. Create one unified organisation: ensure we remain one organisation, with a strong inclusive culture, working with two office bases and our front line inspection and field staff right across the UK. Invest in and develop our people and recruit new skills and expertise. We will focus on our common purpose of public protection and keeping people safe and secure through strong leadership.

Our delivery in 2026-27 will reflect these shifts.

Priorities

In our strategic plan 2026-29, we committed to deliver four priorities over the next three years. The four priorities are:

• continue to strengthen individual licensing
• reset security business standards
• prepare for and deliver regulation under Martyn’s Law
• invest in our people

Everything we do is aimed at building public trust and confidence in private security and in premises and events.

In 2023 we carried out a survey to better understand public perception of the private security industry. To support our new strategic plan and delivery over the next three years, we plan to baseline the current level of public trust and confidence through survey questions. We will then seek to set ourselves a robust target to improve the level of trust - or maintain it if levels are already high.

Invest in our people

“We cannot achieve our aims and ambitions without our staff: those who already work with us, and those who we are yet to recruit and bring on board We want outstanding talent working in our team to bring out the best in each other, work collegiately, and deliver a first-rate service for the public as well as for our customers and stakeholders” – Strategic Plan 2026 to 2029.

People remain our most important asset, and we are committed to providing a culture where everyone feels supported and can achieve to a high standard. We have refreshed our organisational values through a staff-led process. In developing the new values, we focused on the importance of developing a one organisation culture bringing together our work to regulate the private security industry and premises and events under Martyn’s Law.

The new SIA values

Strategic outcomes

The outcomes we expect to achieve are:

• the right people with the right skills in the right roles in support of our purpose
• an improved recruitment and induction experience, so the SIA attracts the right talent to achieve our objectives
• a rewards and recognition process that reflects the knowledge, experience and commitment of people across the organisation
• updated policies and procedures in place, supported by informed and empowered line managers

Key deliverables

The key deliverables will be:

• a people strategy to reflect one organisation
• a skills strategy identifying areas of expertise and opportunities for development and learning
• review, refresh and actively promote our non-pay reward offer to ensure it is well-understood, accessible in practice to a greater number of people across the organisation, recognising expertise, positive behaviours and excellent performance, valued by all staff
• review of 5 HR policies and processes to ensure they reflect the needs of a changing and growing organisation
• a new training programme for line managers rolled out to ensure all managers are equipped and empowered to support development, address challenges and identify learning
• a new and improved performance management process for all employees that supports organisational objectives, and identifies employee training needs in support of our skills strategy
• an improved recruitment strategy and approach (with better use of technology and data) that is workforce-aligned and enhances the candidate experience

Continue to strengthen individual licensing

“Individual licensing directly shapes standards in security delivery by the individuals who carry out roles protecting the public from physical harm we will ensure the standards we set keep pace with public expectations. From entry requirements through to continued competence, we will ensure standards remain robust” – Strategic Plan 2026 to 2029.

Building on high levels of customer satisfaction^{[footnote 1]}, we will further improve the application process for licence applicants, whilst maintaining our current responsive timescales for processing licence applications against robust and rigorous licensing criteria. Reviewing and updating our entry-level standards and supporting training requirements will deliver a security workforce that commands greater confidence from businesses and the public alike.

Strategic outcomes

The outcomes we expect to achieve are:

• improved public trust and confidence in the security industry
• increased public protection through robust entry-level standards
• an improved applicant experience through increased use of technology

Key deliverables

The key deliverables will be:

• a new individual licensing digital portal and casework solution on GOV.UK, designed to streamline the online process and improve usability, offering a more efficient and integrated customer experience
• a public consultation on proposed changes to the licence-linked qualifications as part of the strategic review
• publish agreed changes to the content and prerequisites for licence-linked qualifications, agreeing new qualifications with the Ofqual regulated awarding bodies ready for launch in Spring 2027
• target serious training malpractice and qualification fraud through a programme of training centre inspections and post-application compliance checks with licence holders
• review the impact and effectiveness of the 2025 changes made to the licensing criteria in Get Licensed, six months after operational implementation
• new process to ensure the licensing criteria in Get Licensed keep pace with new criminal offences and other legislation
• a review of licence conditions to ensure they remain fit for purpose
• undertake at least four national PSIA inspection operations to test national compliance rates and focus on quality of security provision
• develop governance, policy and process to support the SIA in becoming a prescribed person under the Public Interest Disclosure Act (1998), affording greater protection for whistleblowers
• deliver a revised online reporting form, ensuring greater accessibility and transparency for members of the public or industry wishing to report a crime or concern relating to the private security industry or protection of premises
• new regulatory guidance publications and tools launched for individual licence holders and security businesses on key safety-critical themes with the aim of driving higher levels of compliance and quality, including appropriate campaigns and promotions
• work with the Home Office on the roadmap for delivery of the preferred in-house licensing options to identify operational and technology requirements (subject to Ministerial agreement on this proceeding and which option they select)

Reset security business standards

“Trust and confidence in private security services, and the credibility of the industry, depend on robust standards that support businesses who operate lawfully and put public safety and protective security at their core” – Strategic Plan 2026 to 2029.

We are already in the process of replacing our existing Approved Contractor Scheme (ACS) with a new enhanced Business Approval Scheme (BAS). Our new approach to business approvals will reset standards for approved businesses, and by strengthening oversight of security businesses, we will drive out bad actors who undermine industry standards and create risks to public safety. Our new Business Approval Scheme will complement the potential introduction of mandatory business licensing (subject to ministerial decision).

Strategic outcomes

The outcomes we expect to achieve are:

• support legitimate businesses and their economic growth
• support buyers of security to make informed purchasing decisions by providing greater transparency of services provided under BAS
• deter and prevent companies who compromise public safety and professional standards

Key deliverables

The key deliverables will be:

• complete and publish results of a public consultation exercise on the detailed design proposals for the new Business Approval Scheme (BAS)
• agree proposition, test operational feasibility and assessment methodology with a sample of existing approved businesses and publish the final scheme
• procure technical partner for the design and build of the BAS digital service and register
• BAS digital application service designed and ready for pilots in Spring 2027
• launch the new Buyer’s Charter, promoting buyers to sign up to good practice guidelines to support the purchasing of quality security service delivery and public safety outcomes
• undertake 250 risk-led PSIA inspections of businesses that supply regulated security industry services to test compliance
• work with the Home Office on the roadmap for delivery of the preferred business licensing options (subject to Ministerial agreement on this proceeding and which option they select)

Prepare for and deliver regulation under Martyn’s Law

“The introduction of Martyn’s Law, and the expansion of our regulatory reach, provides the opportunity to improve and make more consistent protective security standards in premises across the UK, as well as at events that are open to significant numbers of the public” – Strategic Plan 2026 to 2029.

This will expand our remit beyond the private security sector, positioning us as a key partner in national counter terrorism efforts. Successful delivery will strengthen our reputation as an effective, proportionate regulator whilst protecting the public from terrorism threats.

Our focus early in the period covered by this plan will be on preparation and set-up so that we can mobilise as soon as the legislation is commenced in Spring 2027.

Strategic outcomes

The outcomes we expect to achieve are:

• those responsible for the premises and events in scope of the legislation understand their obligations
• Martyn’s Law regulator viewed as successfully launched and working effectively with other stakeholders

Key deliverables

The key deliverables will be:

• be ready to go live when the legislation is commenced (working to Spring 2027)
• consult on and publish SIA’s section 12 guidance on how the SIA will regulate before go-live
• deliver the Martyn’s Law digital service, including a secure portal for notifications and an integrated case management solution for assessment, inspection, and enforcement, meeting the statutory go-live date
• launch new digital notifications portal on GOV.UK for in-scope premises and events, fully functioning and tested before go-live, linked to our casework management system
• recruitment to agreed numbers and timeline to support effective delivery and go-live in new regulatory function
• a new risk assessment framework in place to guide and prioritise our regulatory decisions ready before go-live
• put in place a minimum of 5 new formal gateways and MOUs (Memorandums of Understanding) – or amend existing ones – with relevant public bodies, regulators, local authorities and others who already regulate or supervise the activities of in-scope premises and events to minimise duplication and promote joint working
• deliver outreach and communications plan to support in-scope premises and events to understand new obligations, plan and prepare
• ensure those working in SIA understand our new responsibilities and their role, however limited, in delivering them

Enabling activity

We require a range of activity to support the delivery of our four priorities.

This includes:

• communications
• inspection and enforcement activity
• finance and procurement
• digital, data and technology
• other activity

Communications

We will:

• conduct a public survey to baseline levels of public trust and confidence
• develop a new brand strategy and communications plan to launch in Spring 2027 reflecting the SIA’s new wider Martyn’s Law responsibilities
• develop a campaign to raise awareness and public confidence in the SIA private security licence – “What’s/who’s behind the badge?”

Inspection and enforcement activity

We will:

• work with and support the Home Office on securing changes to the regime to address gaps in and legal limitations of SIA powers (subject to Ministerial agreement)
• design, plan and mobilise the new SIA-wide shared intelligence service and reporting centre

Finance and procurement

We will:

• deliver the outcome of the annual fee review
• refresh the income forecasting model to ensure the greatest levels of accuracy in predicting application volumes
• roll out a new strategic commercial pipeline, followed by new commercial training and the launch of Contract & Supplier relationship guidance and procedures in line with GIAA (Government Internal Audit Agency) recommendations

Digital, data and technology

We will:

• develop the strategy and implementation plans for a single regulatory view across regulatory functions through the development and use of robust technology and data systems
• develop a comprehensive data and architecture model to understand relationships across all data within the regulatory network. This unified approach will drive data efficiency, enabling the business to manage information proactively, improve decision-making, and maintain strong data security
• effectively manage and maintain secure, reliable systems while delivering robust, user-focused services that enable the organisation to operate efficiently, securely, and at scale
• provide effective programme and project support through strong governance, clear controls, and professional delivery practices in accordance with government functional standards

Other activity

We will:

• deliver a range of targeted activities to ensure high standards of data culture and information management across the organisation, and address non compliance
• deliver a new proportionate GIAA-led audit designed for smaller ALBs (Arm’s Length Bodies)
• identify and open a suitable second office site in Manchester
• implement an SIA-wide Data Protection Compliance Plan that reflects the ICO (Information Commissioner’s Office) Data Protection and Audit Framework

Measuring performance

Achievement against this business plan is the collective responsibility of the executive through the executive directors, their deputy directors, and senior leaders. The relevant Deputy Director and individual executive director will regularly monitor the progress of specific deliverables, with directors escalating risks and areas of concern to other directors and the Chief Executive as appropriate.

Those responsible will provide quarterly updates against performance to the executive directors, which will be tracked at their formal meetings, chaired by the Chief Executive. We will also report performance against the plan quarterly at full Board meetings. In addition, we will be held to account on this business plan and our performance by the Home Office, our sponsoring department, through regular engagement with the Security Minister and the senior policy sponsor (Director level). The Security Minister, who is responsible for the SIA, reports to Parliament on our performance.

We have established a set of key performance indicators to track progress against delivery of the priority activity listed in the Strategic Plan 2026-29.

KPI	Strategic theme	Key performance indicator
1	Invest in our people	Achieve an onboarding staff satisfaction rate of at least 75%
2	Invest in our people	Maintain annual staff turnover at or below 10%
3	Invest in our people	Achieve a staff engagement score of at least 70% (based on the overall result of the SIA staff survey)
4a	Strengthen individual licensing	All individual licence applications (complex and simple) to be processed within an average of 10 working days (stretch target: 9 working days). Clock starts once application reaches ‘checks in progress’ until first decision is made.
4b	Strengthen individual licensing	Complex individual licence applications to be processed within an average of 16 working days (stretch target: fewer than 15 working days)
4c	Strengthen individual licensing	Simple individual licence applications to be processed within an average of 1.5 working days (stretch target: less than 1 day)
5	Strengthen individual licensing	Applicant online service requests to be actioned within an average of 4 working days (stretch target: less than 3 working days)
6	Strengthen individual licensing	95% of decisions to suspend a licence are made within 3 working days from receipt of sufficient information to public protection outcome (stretch target: 95% in 2 working days; 85% in 1 working day)
7	Strengthen individual licensing	Obtain a net promoter score of 50+ on our external user satisfaction survey
8a	Strengthen individual licensing	98% or above UK national PSIA compliance rate maintained across regulated sectors (supported by risk-based compliance activity)
8b	Strengthen individual licensing	Conduct a minimum of 3,400 risk-led licence inspections across all regulated sectors to provide assurance on the national compliance rate (PSIA s3 and s5)
9a	Strengthen individual licensing	Increase the volume of inspections undertaken at training centres delivering SIA licence-linked training by 30%. (Baseline full 2025-26 outturn)
9b	Strengthen individual licensing	95% of identified action points and instances of malpractice at SIA licence-linked training centres reported to the awarding organisation for follow-up within 5 working days (excluding cases referred for SIA criminal investigation)
10	Reset business standards	90% of eligible businesses re-register or renew their ACS approval
11	Reset business standards	Target 85% of the largest 100 companies by turnover remain in ACS (individually or by merger)
12	Reset business standards	Conduct 250 business inspections of providers of regulated security industry services to assess compliance
13a	Enabling Function – Corporate Services	95% of first-level complaints resolved (full written response) within 20 working days (from the point a handler first looks at the complaint)
13b	Enabling Function – Corporate Services	95% of complex, first-level complaints to receive either a full written response or an explanation of why it will take longer within 20 working days (from the point a handler first looks at the complaint)
14	Enabling Function – Intelligence	95% of all intelligence triaged as immediate or high risk to be processed, developed and passed for action within 5 working days of receipt
15	Enabling Function – Intelligence	95% of requests for information from partner agencies responded to within 10 working days
16	Enabling Function – Intelligence	90% of actionable information submissions received from members of the public triaged and progressed within 3 working days

Forecast volumes and statistics for 2026-27

Approved Contractor Scheme:

• 100 new Approved Contractor Scheme applications processed
• 20 Approved Contractor Scheme events held
• 600 Approved Contractor Scheme annual returns and renewals processed

Licensing & Service Delivery:

• 8,350 individual licences revoked
• 186,000 service requests handled
• 56,000 licensing application calls handled
• 3,200 non-RTW (Right to Work) appeals against licensing decisions
• 12,000-18,500 licence decisions made each month
• 74,400 initial right-to-work checks conducted at the application stage
• 150,000 qualifications, to be split 110,000 first time and 40,000 refreshers

Investigations & Enforcement:

• 750 sites checked for risk-based inspections and 417 sites checked for intelligence-led inspections
• 975 compliance and intervention cases opened
• 850 compliance and intervention cases closed
• 3,400 risk-led inspections, 1,200 intelligence-led checks
• 7,500 items of information and intelligence assessed from members of the public, private security industry, partners and SIA staff
• 3,000 intelligence items generated from SIA investigators and assessed
• 90 criminal investigation cases completed

Corporate Services:

• 280 Data Protection Act (DPA) requests handled
• 450 complaints handled
• 50 procurement campaigns completed
• 104 individuals recruited
• 100 Freedom of Information requests responded to

Resources

Funding

As a public body we are held accountable by the National Audit Office and Parliament (and through our sponsorship by the Home Office) for delivering in a way that secures value for money for the licence holder and taxpayer. Those we regulate – individuals, businesses and premises – expect us not only to deliver a good service, but to provide value for money in doing so. We will deliver this business plan alongside a refreshed Efficiency Plan for 2026-29. The SIA is funded under two different streams fee recovery and direct grant from the Home Office.

PSIA activity

Our PSIA activity is funded predominantly through fees charged to individuals and businesses, with Capital Departmental Expenditure Limits (CDEL) funding provided by the Home Office. The SIA has two fees in statute – the individual licence fee and the fee for ACS membership. This is year 1 of the three-year cycle so is expected to generate higher volumes and be a surplus year. The surpluses from the first two years of the cycle should balance the deficit in the third year. The statutory fee on 1 April 2026 remains at £204 to meet the costs of the licensing processes.

PSIA Resource Departmental Expenditure Limits (RDEL) budget 2026-27

Total income	12,800,000
Pay	22,091,000
Non-pay	15,465,000
Non-cash (depreciation)	2,375,000
Total expenditure	39,931,000
Surplus (incl. depreciation) to be carried over to second & third year	780,000

PSIA Capital Departmental Expenditure Limits (CDEL) budget 2026-27

Total income	4,365,000
Income	4,365,000

Martyn’s Law

In 2026-27 the SIA will receive funding from the Home Office to deliver activity as the new regulator for the Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act (Martyn’s Law). This funding will be provided by a direct grant from the Home Office.

MLR Budget 2026-27

Total income	12,800,000
RDEL
Pay	5,270,000
Non-pay	3,910,000
Non-cash	41,000
Total RDEL expenditure	9,221,000
CDEL
Total CDEL expenditure	3,579,000
MLR Total budget (RDEL and CDEL)	12,800,000

People

The number of FTE for 2026-27 is set out below.

Directorate	PSIA	Martyn’s Law
Licensing and Standards	153	0
Inspections and Enforcement	129	5
Corporate Services	67	17
Digital, Data and Technology	36	13
Martyn’s Law	0	69
Chief Executive (excluding non-executives on Board)	12	5
Total	397	109

Risk Management

Our risk management processes are based on the principles and guidance set out in HM Treasury’s The Orange Book and associated guidance. These provide for the identification and management of risks in accordance with the Board’s Risk Appetite statement.

These processes are kept under review to ensure they remain appropriate to our areas of operation and the attainment of our strategic objectives. They were assured through an audit completed by the GIAA in 2025-26.

Our Audit and Risk Assurance Committee (ARAC) provide assurance to the Accounting Officer and Board that adequate processes are in place and are being effectively used to manage risks within the SIA. Challenge is provided through our risk reporting and assurance processes. These include regular risk reporting to the Board, Executive Directors Group, People Committee, and senior leadership. Relevant strategic risks are also regularly shared and discussed with the assured risk escalation processes within the organisation and with the Home Office.

We work with our partners to manage risks that we are unable to control or mitigate in isolation due to the limits of our authority and remit.

To support the mitigation of cyber and information risks we have maintained our Cyber Essentials Plus certification with the National Cyber Security Centre.

We remain vigilant to emerging risks, including those that might arise in relation to the development of our regulatory role under the Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act 2025.

We will continue to develop and improve our risk practices to reflect changing operating conditions and maintain best practice.

[GEN/26-27/002]

1. According to the Security Industry Authority (SIA) Customer Satisfaction Report 2025, 89% of individual applicants expressed satisfaction with the application process. ↩