Door staff plan is

postponed again by John Harrington The deadline for door staff in the south west to register for the new licensing scheme has been pushed back again. Police blame a slow response from applicants and delays in a complex administrative procedure. Door supervisors in the region who have already applied forthe new compulsory licences approved by the Security Industry Authority (SIA) now have until 23 November to be licensed. This is the second time the deadline has been extended in the south west. The original cut-off point of 23 August was put back to 13 September to allow door staff to complete the forms, many of which had not been filled out correctly or properly distributed. Alasdair Downes, director of business development at NCFE, one of the awarding bodies for the new SIA scheme, said the three-tier application procedure had contributed to the delays. To be licensed, door staff must pass the quality tests from one of the three awarding bodies ­ NCFE, City & Guilds, or the British Institute of Innkeeping. Those who pass receive a certification number, which they must send to the SIA who can then send the licence. Applicants must also have passed a police check, which reveals if the candidate has committed any crimes that make him ineligible for the job. "It's been a huge exercise," Downes said. "We are working as close as we can with the SIA and all the various [training] providers." He added that a number of inexperienced training providers have added to the delay. "Several issues have arisen in relation to this. Some of the training providers are new, and were just set up for [the new scheme]." SIA spokesman Robert Buxton also criticised door staff for dragging their heels over the registration scheme, which had made the delay worse. "People have been able to apply for licences in the south west since 1 June. They have known details of licensing for over a year and training has been available since January. "The police recognise that a lot of door supervisors just left it too late." Buxton added that this delay is not the fault of the SIA. "We are meeting our targets ­ 90% of valid applications are processed within four to six weeks." Police in Gloucestershire blamed "administration difficulties within SIA" for the fact that only a "very small number" of door staff in the county had been issued with the new SIA licence. Door staff who are currently licensed under Gloucestershire's own Doorsafe scheme will be able to operate without the new SIA licence until 23 November. Buxton: time to get serious Security Industry Authority (SIA) spokesman Robert Buxton stressed that the period of grace would only apply to people who have made a "serious effort" to get registered. Applicants must have already sent off their packs and received an acknowledgement from the SIA ­ and even then, it would be up to police discretion, he said.