Door staff licence backlog has now been cleared says SIA

The backlog in processing door staff licences is over and processing times are back to normal, the Security Industry Authority (SIA) has said.

Trade bodies and security firms had complained that administrative delays left door workers waiting months for the new licences to be sent. The SIA blamed the problem on late applications.

The SIA's assistant director of licensing Paul Douglas said this week: "We cleared the backlog in September and processing times have now returned to normal.

"The usual processing time for licence applications is approximately six weeks - for correctly completed applications that require standard checks. But complicated applications or those requiring overseas criminality checks, qualification verifications or Criminal Records Bureau clarification may take longer."

Bar Entertainment & Dance Association (BEDA) executive director Paul Smith said that the association's members had not raised problems about the SIA licensing regime in recent months.