Minister blames pubs, not SIA, for doorstaff licence chaos
Home Office minister Hazel Blears has blamed the pub industry for the crisis over unlicensed doorstaff.
Ms Blears (pictured) was responding to concerns raised by Eric Illsley, MP for Barnsley Central, during a Commons debate this week.
Although all doorstaff in England and Wales are now required to hold a Security Industry Authority (SIA) licence, fewer than a quarter of an estimated 100,000 door workers are believed to have qualified. Pubs found with unlicensed doorstaff could be forced to close, with licensees facing fines or even a prison sentence.
Mr Illsley, who discussed the matter privately with Ms Blears after the debate, said that he had expected a "better response" from the Home Office.
"I was told the blame was with the leisure industry and the pubs and clubs themselves," he added. "The Home Office believes pubs should be forcing people to register with the SIA."
The Home Office refused to comment on the conversation. During the debate last Tuesday, Mr Illsley called for the deadline for doorstaff licensing to be extended until the end of year to avoid a "chaotic situation". He urged the SIA to do more to encourage registration.
"At the moment, all it wants to do is to enforce the legislation, rather than trying to make it work," said Mr Illsley. "To leave the situation as it stands is a recipe for disaster."
Venues and doorstaff in London - the last area to take on the new licence - have now been told they are unlikely to be prosecuted until after June 6.
But police have already begun cracking down on unlicensed supervisors in some areas. Forty-two doorstaff in Sheffield were sent home last weekend.
Eleven of the workers caught were issued with a summons by police, while the remainder received verbal warnings.
In Bristol 75 warning letters were sent out to door workers after 80 premises were targeted. Similar raids have been carried out at pubs and bars in Nottingham, Barnsley and Doncaster.
Mark Hastings, communications director at the British Beer & Pub Association, said: "The Home Office knows it's not the pub industry's fault, because while pubs use doorstaff, they do not directly employ them.
"I'm afraid the Home Office is being misled by the SIA because the scale of the problem is being caused by their system. We recognise the industry has an important role to play in ensuring that doorstaff are registered and we're trying to find a constructive solution."
But the SIA is standing firm. "This law has been known about for two years and doorstaff had plenty of warning," said SIA spokesman Robert Buxton. "There are no delays in the system and we urge door supervisors to comply as soon as possible."
