Licensing, legal and compliance changes that affect operators.
A White Paper published on 22 October proposes new offences, unlimited fines for ship owners and penalties for reckless or negligent damage to undersea cables and pipelines. The consultation closes on 14 January 2027.
The SIA's applications report, updated on 22 October, shows 3,990 close protection applications in the twelve months to September 2026 against 4,607 the year before. All-sector applications fell 7.8 per cent. The report gives no reasons.
The Security Industry Authority published "SIA enforcement: what to expect" on 20 October: its powers, penalties, the 90 day suspension review and the 21 day appeal deadline.
The Home Office updated its voluntary NCTAS-P list on 16 October. What the list holds, which accreditations lapse first, and what to check before contracting a team.
The counter-terrorism disruptive powers report for 2025 also records 2,654 Schedule 7 port examinations, three new proscriptions and seven citizenship deprivations. Excluding Palestine Action, arrests rose 2 per cent.
The SIA's new quarterly report covers April to June 2026: 1,553 licences revoked, 475 refused, 378 suspended and 9 ACS approvals withdrawn. Employers should check licence status regularly, not only at onboarding.
An SIA Freedom of Information response published on 6 October also records 65 visits to BIIAB-approved training providers since January 2024. It does not say whether any licences have been affected.
Since 1 October staff have six months to bring most employment tribunal claims, and from 30 October employers can be liable for harassment of their staff by members of the public unless they have taken all reasonable steps to prevent it.
The Firearms (Amendment) Rules 2026 come into force on 29 September. Holders must tell the police without undue delay about a new diagnosis, worsening symptoms or treatment outside their GP practice.
A Freedom of Information response sets out 15 licence condition breaches and six suspected unlicensed cases from the 21 June operation, and withholds the SIA's Martyn's Law operating model.
The regulator's consultation on licence-linked qualifications closes at 11:59pm on Friday 23 October 2026. Two of the proposals would change what a close protection licence lets you do.
The Security Industry Authority has published its latest update on how the Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act will work, with a scope tool, template procedures and a notifications portal all due before the law takes effect.
The Security Industry Authority has opened a consultation on changes to licence qualifications, including making an in-date first aid qualification a licence condition for close protection operatives, door supervisors and security guards.
The Security Industry Authority is set to publish its final Section 12 statutory guidance in autumn 2026, with the Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act expected to come into force in spring 2027.
The Security Industry Authority ended its recognition of the British Institute of Innkeeping Awarding Body from 10 August 2026, leaving five recognised awarding organisations. Anyone holding or booked onto a BIIAB licence-linked qualification should confirm where they stand.
The Security Industry Authority has removed the British Institute of Innkeeping Awarding Body from its approved list. From 10 August it can no longer issue new licence-linked qualifications. If you are booking or renewing SIA training, check your provider's awarding body first.
The SIA has ended its recognition of the awarding body BIIAB, effective 10 August, over breaches it calls not capable of being remedied. Qualifications awarded before then still count within the usual window, but mid-course learners and hiring firms should confirm who issues the certificate.
New Home Office guidance sets the clock for registering venues and events with the SIA. Qualifying premises get a three-month window to notify, and qualifying events must be flagged within 14 days of a date going public.
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New Home Office figures show 10,293 Prevent referrals in the year to September 2025, up 39% and the highest since records began. Extreme right-wing concerns now more than double Islamist ones.
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The Security Council has extended the CAR sanctions regime, including the arms embargo, travel bans and asset freezes, to 31 July 2027. A compliance marker for firms with operations, procurement or due-diligence exposure in the region.
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A statutory instrument laid before Parliament on 14 July 2026 sets out how premises and events will register with the Security Industry Authority under Martyn's Law. Here is what the notification regime will require, and the deadlines that start once the duties commence.
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The Security Industry Authority is being stood up as the Martyn's Law regulator. Final guidance is expected this autumn and the duties are due to commence in spring 2027. Here is where the two tiers now sit.
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Thirteen per cent of those MI5 investigates for terrorism are children, a threefold rise since 2021. The Crime and Policing Act 2026 answers with a new civil order aimed at diverting under-21s away from prosecution.
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The regulator's review of every licence-linked qualification reaches its decision point. Close protection content is on the table, and anyone qualifying or requalifying from spring 2027 should plan for redesigned courses.
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From 1 April 2026 no CP operative renews an SIA licence without completing the new refresher qualification. It replaces the old one-off top-up and now recurs at every renewal.
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The Home Office has set out how, when and what to tell the regulator under section 9. The duty is not live yet, but its shape is now fixed.
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200 and 800. Those thresholds separate a notification-and-procedures duty from a documented, SIA-submitted security regime, and the consultation phase has already closed.
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Anyone holding a part-finished SIA licence-linked qualification through a BIIAB centre now has a fixed deadline, not an open one.
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The regulator's qualification review reaches its publication milestone this season, with new qualifications mandatory from spring 2027. Operators renewing in the next eighteen months should watch what lands, and treat the secondary commentary already circulating with care.
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The SIA's consultation on how it will regulate under Martyn's Law has closed. Final guidance is due in autumn, the Act comes into force in spring 2027, and the standard venues will be held to is being set now.
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The SIA's section 12 consultation has closed and final statutory guidance is due this autumn. The framework UK venue and event operators will be inspected against is being set now, ahead of a spring 2027 commencement.
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The core duties of the Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act have begun switching on and the SIA's updated regulator guidance is now live. The thresholds are fixed at 200 and 800. Full enforcement is spring 2027, so the window to get premises ready is now.
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Fresh GOV.UK guidance this week confirms how the SIA will regulate. Standard tier starts at 200, enhanced at 800, and the duty is reasonable, practicable steps sized to the site.
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The standard and enhanced thresholds sit at 200 and 800, final SIA guidance is due in the autumn, and close-protection renewals already need a refresher and a first-aid ticket.
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The SIA's section 12 guidance for Martyn's Law is heading for autumn, with the law due in force in spring 2027. Separately, close-protection renewals since April now require a refresher qualification and a current first-aid ticket.
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OFAC's General Licence X1 closed at 12:01am Eastern today, ending the short wind-down of last month's Iran-oil authorisation. Any new dealing in Iranian oil is sanctionable again — and the exposure reaches insurers, crews and vessel managers, not only traders.
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The short-lived US authorisation for Iranian oil dealings closes at one minute past midnight Eastern on Friday 17 July. After that, no new business in Iranian crude, petrochemicals or petroleum products, and firms are told not to expect an extension.
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The short-lived US authorisation for Iranian oil trade is being unwound. OFAC's General License X1 gave only a ten-day window, and it closes at 12:01am Eastern on Friday 17 July. No new Iranian oil transactions have been allowed since 7 July, and firms are warned not to count on an extension.
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The Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act is live and the SIA is building its regulator function. Its draft section 12 guidance has been out to consultation; the duties bite in spring 2027. UK venue and event operators should be preparing now, not then.
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Washington has revoked June's temporary authorisation for Iranian oil trade. A 10-day wind-down runs to 12:01am EDT on Friday 17 July; after that, no new dealings in Iranian crude, petrochemicals or petroleum products. Firms touching Gulf energy trade need to be clear by then.
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Since 1 April, close-protection operatives cannot renew an SIA licence without completing an approved refresher qualification first — and a valid first-aid ticket is a prerequisite. It is a recurring requirement, not a one-off, and lapses are catching operators out.
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OFAC has revoked the short-lived General License X and given the market a 10-day wind-down that expires 00:01 EDT on 17 July. Anyone with Iranian-linked cargo, contracts or receivables needs them closed out by then — with no extension in prospect.
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The core provisions of the Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act are commencing, the SIA's section 12 guidance consultation has closed with final wording due in autumn, and the regulator's portal isn't live yet. UK venue operators have a window to get the framework right before it bites.
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Washington has revoked the short-lived authorisation that let Iranian crude trade legally. Anyone with Iran-nexus exposure has until 17 July to close out — and the compliance surface just widened for everyone in Gulf logistics.
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The regulator is now piloting inspections and building its notification platform ahead of enforcement, with final Section 12 guidance due in autumn and the law in force from spring 2027. For advisers, the readiness window is now.
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The regulator published its latest monthly enforcement report this week. Behind the routine numbers, the bigger clock is Martyn's Law: final guidance in autumn, the duty live from spring 2027, two tiers of premises in scope.
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A new DHS/DOJ interim rule codifies state and local authority to take down drones at major events. Private security still has none — so know who does in your area of operations.
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Two June publications set the UK compliance sequence for the next three years. Final Section 12 guidance lands this autumn; the Act is expected in force from spring 2027; and licensing itself is moving beyond box-ticking.
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The Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act's statutory guidance landed in April. Duties do not bite before 2027, but venue-facing operators should be mapping scope now, not when the SIA switches enforcement on.
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The Home Office's statutory guidance landed on 15 April and the SIA's section 12 consultation closed on 12 June. With the regime not in force before spring 2027, the job for duty holders is building documented procedures now — not on the deadline.
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Martyn's Law is expected in force in spring 2027 with the SIA as regulator. The consultation on its Section 12 guidance has closed, with final guidance due in autumn. The direction of travel is from licence-holding toward demonstrable competence.
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The Crime and Policing Act 2026 received Royal Assent on 29 April and its first provisions commenced on 29 June. New offences on face-covering in designated areas, pyrotechnics at protests and climbing named memorials change what security teams can expect police to enforce.
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A co-ordinated 21 June enforcement operation checked 450 licences across 224 premises, identifying six suspected 'working without a licence' offences. The regulator is now chasing the suppliers, not just the individuals.
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ACS firms now pay GBP 25 per deployed officer, up from GBP 15, and the 50% discount on a second licence only applies if you apply same day, same form. Operators holding more than one badge feel it directly.
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The SIA's consultation on how it will regulate Martyn's Law shut on 12 June. With commencement expected spring 2027, the run-up is the time for duty-holders to act.
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Two quiet but real changes for UK operators — the ACS registration fee has risen for the first time in its history, and the consultation that will shape Martyn's Law enforcement has just closed.
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From 1 April 2026 the SIA will not renew a close protection licence without a refresher qualification, and you cannot sit that refresher without a current Level 3 first aid certificate. Plan the lead time now.
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The SIA's section 12 guidance consultation closed on 12 June. With statutory guidance published and the SIA confirmed as regulator, the framework is fixed and the work now sits with duty-holders. The two tiers and what each must do are clear enough to start on today.
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A Dorset door supervisor worked on an expired licence; the company and its director were prosecuted alongside him. The SIA's message is that supplying illegal security is the employer's offence, not just the operative's.
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The SIA's consultation on its section 12 guidance closed on 12 June. It sets out how the regulator will inspect, advise and penalise duty-holders once the law goes live in spring 2027. The compliance clock for venues is already running.
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From 1 June the ACS per-head fee rose and the multi-licence discount narrowed, on top of 2026 changes to criminality checks and a new refresher requirement for close-protection renewals. The compliance bar has moved.
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Commencement No. 2 regulations bring key functions of the Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act into force on 15 June. The framework that will govern venues and events is now being built in the open.
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The window to shape how the SIA inspects, advises and penalises under the Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act closes at 23:59 on 12 June. Commencement is expected in spring 2027 — the preparation clock is already running.
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Since 1 April, close protection operatives can't renew without the new refresher award, and the licence fee has risen to £204. Behind both sits the SIA's full review of licence-linked qualifications, landing in spring 2027.
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Cutting through the document to the handful of points that change day-to-day practice.
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