The Security Industry Authority published a draft Security Buyer's Charter on 24 June 2026, built with its Buyers Special Interest Group. It sets out how organisations should buy private security: the questions to ask at tender, how to score bids, and how to manage contracts after award.
The charter pushes buyers to weigh competence, fair pay, lawful working conditions and workforce wellbeing, not just price. It carries practical tools: tender question templates, evaluation criteria and contract-management approaches. The SIA is taking feedback now, with a final version due later in 2026.
For operators, the target is the race to the bottom. Lowest-cost contracts squeeze pay, training and rest, and they reward firms that cut corners. A charter that buyers actually adopt shifts the advantage to firms that pay properly and train their people. If you bid for work, expect tenders to start asking harder questions about wages, vetting and welfare, so build your bids to answer them.
