He also airs frustration about the SIA Approved Contractor Scheme ( ACS ): “ The current security supply sector has some issues not only within the Private Security Act itself , but with the current systems in place around standards , both for operatives and supply companies .
“ At present , the current system has created a disparity in taxation , where ACS-accredited companies must have each operative on PAYE , whereas non-accredited businesses , which are not registered and not tracked by the regulator are able to use UTR selfemployment schemes to maximise financial position and be more competitive .
“ Some of these businesses are subject to tax avoidance , devoid of training and standards , are not subject to internal training or vetting and continually utilise the UTR position to undercut accredited businesses on rates , with many supporting uninsured operatives and open to poaching staff directly from competitors on cash-based terms .”
Stuart agrees that a lack of experienced security staff is a huge issue facing the live events sector .
“ Most events got closer to making their required numbers this year than we expected , but only because of massive last-minute recruitment drives of brand-new people to the industry ,” he says . “ Many of them came in , realised
“ I need the industry to say to Government , ‘ stop messing around , we need this legislation ’.”
- Figen Murray
what they were up against , and didn ’ t like it very much . Whether they were good or bad , they lacked the years of experience in the industry that teaches them how to speak to people , how to recognise challenges and nip problems in the bud . Numbers-wise it ’ s not as bad as we thought , but experience-wise , it ’ s absolutely dire .
He expects the problem to impact the events industry for at least two more years and says that in order to encourage the right kind of people , and retain them , the security sector must work to create career paths for its employees , and year-around job security .
Happily , Kemp says there is positive work going on to educate a new wave of event security personnel : “ There ’ s a lot more people coming on courses , and more companies getting involved , we ’ ve seen it right across the board . Everybody is starting to invest in this area because they see it as really important , they know that when Protect Duty comes in they will need people who have a certain skill level to be able to implement measures and monitor what ’ s going on .”
Protect Duty In March , on publication of the results of an 18-week consultation on the proposed Protect Duty legislation , the Government said it would mandate the inclusion of anti-terrorism measures at all UK venues with a capacity of more than 100 . On 10 May , Protect Duty took another step toward becoming law when it was confirmed in the Queen ’ s Speech .
Figen Murray , mother of Martyn Hett who was one of 22 people who died in the 2017 Manchester Arena attack , has since the tragedy been pushing hard for increased anti-terrorism measures at publicly accessible facilities such as venues .
Her years of campaigning have led the Government to promise to introduce Martyn ’ s Law , also known as Protect Duty , but exactly what it will consist of and when it will be introduced remain unknown .
Murray says , “ I get everything from people coming up to me and saying , ‘ you ’ re great , you ’ re inspirational ’, to standing ovations at events . That ’ s all great , I really value that , but that ’ s not what I ’ m doing this for . I want change .
“ I have become a figurehead for this , which is something I didn ’ t expect when I started the petition all those years ago , but just being the figurehead is not enough . The time has now come for change . I need the industry to start becoming vocal , not just me , I need the industry to say to Government , ‘ stop messing around , we need this legislation ’.”
Stuart says he has seen Protect Duty ’ s slow progression toward becoming law draw to a standstill in recent weeks : “ It ’ s significant the regular calls that we have with the Home Office , over what Protect Duty is going to look like , have been cancelled for the past couple of months because they simply can ’ t make progress . They can ’ t make progress because Government is in disarray , ministers are changing , but they also can ’ t make progress because of the really difficult challenges involved – like what is a competent person when it comes to making a security assessment , who is responsible for the last mile zone leading up to a venue and what is a publicly accessible location ?
“ The Government has even talked recently about a tick box form for
21