Muddle over doorstaff licences may shut bars
by John Harrington
Pubs and clubs across London and the south east could be forced to close because not enough doorstaff have applied for the new Security Industry Authority (SIA) licence, according to the SIA.
The SIA issued the warning in response to fears that not enough doormen in the region have the new SIA licence in time for the imminent deadline.
All doorstaff in the south east must have the new licence by 28 February. Those in London have until 11 April.
Last week, the Bar Entertain-ment and Dance Association (BEDA) warned that some door staff were being made to wait up to 14 weeks for new licences to be sent once they had completed the training and achieved the right qualifications.
But SIA spokesman Robert Buxton said it was a "myth" that the problem had been caused by delays in sending out new licences. "The average application is processed on time," he said. "There will be one or two that miss."
BEDA chief executive Jon Collins said: "There's problems on both sides. Individuals can be slow in applying and some club operators have been slower than they could have been.
"But there's no doubt on evidence from our members that there's lots of examples of licences taking significantly longer than six to eight weeks to be processed."
Collins said he has held meetings with SIA chief executive John Saunders where he agreed to streamline the application process. Collins mentioned one example when an applicant had his licence sent back because he stated his current employment as "HSBC employee" and not "bank employee".
Chris Allison, Association of Chief Police Officers spokesman for licensing and commander in the Metropolitan Police, warned: "The police service will take action against those who break the law, be they the door supervisors or those who employ them."
The numbers
Around 10,000 of the estimated 40,000 door supervisors in England and Wales have received their new Security Industry Authority (SIA) licence, the SIA has said. But around 6,000 are waiting for approval before their licences can be sent.
The SIA said 7,500 application packs have been requested by doorstaff in London and the south east. A further 1,500 people in the region are waiting for approval.
