The shape of UK private security regulation for the rest of the decade firmed up in June, across two SIA publications that reward reading together.
First, the strategic plan. The SIA's 2026-29 strategy, published 8 June, marks the biggest expansion of the regulator's remit in its history: regulating premises for the first time under Martyn's Law, alongside individual and business licensing. Two commitments matter for every licence holder. The SIA says it will 'raise licensing standards, focusing for the first time on the quality of service provision, not simply licensing compliance', and it will introduce a new business approval scheme. Chair Mike Cunningham calls it change at a scale the SIA has not seen in more than 20 years.
Second, the enforcement machinery. The SIA's consultation on its draft Section 12 guidance, the document setting out how it will inspect, obtain information, address non-compliance and set financial penalties as Martyn's Law regulator, closed in mid-June with nearly 200 detailed responses and over 1,800 people and organisations engaged through its webinar programme. Per GOV.UK, the SIA plans to publish the final Section 12 guidance and a full consultation report in autumn 2026, with the Act expected to come into force from spring 2027.
The sequence is now explicit: final regulator guidance this autumn, statutory duties live from spring 2027, and a regulator that intends to judge quality, not just paperwork, across its whole remit.
Operator implication: venues and event operators get one more planning cycle before Martyn's Law bites, and the autumn guidance will be the definitive document to build compliance programmes against. For security businesses, the quieter story is the bigger one: a quality-of-service licensing regime and a business approval scheme will separate providers who can evidence standards from those who only hold licences. Start building the evidence base now; retrofit is always dearer.
