To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of the (a) adequacy of training required to acquire an SIA license and (b) potential impact of the current training regime on the treatment of the visually impaired.

The Security Industry Authority (SIA) is responsible for setting mandatory training requirements for the roles within the private security industry that it licenses. It reviews its training standards every five years, with the most recent changes coming into force in October 2022. This process involves the industry and expert stakeholders and a significant amount of research and consultation. For this round of qualifications, the public consultations attracted approximately 6,000 responses. The Home Office is satisfied that the SIA has the expertise to set standards of the appropriate quality.

‘Principles of Working in the Private Security Industry’ is a unit included in the current door supervision, security guarding and CCTV training. In relation to the treatment of individuals who have visual impairment, a protected characteristic, the unit covers the key legislation (including the Equalities Act 2010) and the need to recognise diverse customer needs and expectations, and to understand how to keep vulnerable people safe.