SIA License Applications

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Information Act (FOIA).

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Freedom of Information Team

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Dear Nigel Jones,

Thank you for your request information which we received on 19 October
2023.  We have treated your request in line with the Freedom of
Information Act (‘’FOIA’’).

You have requested:

‘’Please could you provide a count of the number of applications you
received for a SIA license in each of the following periods:
2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023 YTD
Please could you also provide a breakdown of how many of the applicants
were classed as UK Citizens and list all the other nationalities along
with a count of how many applicants were of that nationality.
Please also provide a count of how many of the applicants had spent 6
continuous months or more outside the UK in the previous 6 months before
their application.’’

I can confirm that the SIA do hold this information.

 1. Please could you provide a count of the number of applications you
received for a SIA license in each of the following periods: 2019,
2020, 2021, 2022, 2023 YTD.

This information is exempt from disclosure under section 21(1) Freedom of
Information Act 2000 because it is reasonably accessible to you by other
means.  Namely, it is readily available on the SIA website and you can
view it here: [1]SIA licence applications - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).  Please
open the spreadsheet and select the Applications by Sector tab to view
these figures broken down by the requested years.

 2. Please could you also provide a breakdown of how many of the
applicants were classed as UK Citizens and list all the other
nationalities along with a count of how many applicants were of that
nationality.

This information is exempt from disclosure under section 21(1) Freedom of
Information Act 2000 because it is reasonably accessible to you by other
means.  Namely, it is readily available on the SIA website and you can
view it here: [2]SIA licence holders - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).  Please select
the desired month in the desired year, open the spreadsheet then select
the Nationality tab to view these figures.

 3. Please also provide a count of how many of the applicants had spent 6
continuous months or more outside the UK in the previous 6 months
before their application.

Please see the below table.  The total applicants reflect the total number
who have spent more than 6 months living outside of the UK, within 6
months from the date they applied for an SIA licence.

Year Total Applicants
2019 1998
2020 1802
2021 5752
2022 13109
2023 17072

If you are dissatisfied with the handling of your request, you can ask for
an internal review via our contact form:
 [3]https://www.services.sia.homeoffice.gov....

Please select 'General Enquiry' as the category and 'Freedom of
Information/DPA subject access request' as the topic. Alternatively, you
can write to us at:

Freedom of Information

Security Industry Authority

PO Box 74957

London

E14 1UG

If you are not content with the outcome of the internal review, you have
the right to apply directly to the Information Commissioner for a
decision. The Information Commissioner can be contacted at: Information
Commissioner's Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9
5AF.

Kind Regards,

Sofia

Sofia Luisa Ryrie

Senior Solicitor (Advocate), Legal Services

Deputy Chair of Pride Network

My pronouns are: She/Her

My working hours are: Monday to Thursday, 8am – 6pm

 
Security Industry Authority

[4]www.gov.uk/sia
[8]Customer Service
Excellence | Hull
[5]facebook-icon[6]twitter-icon[7]linkedin-icon Culture and Leisure

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For further information about the Security Industry Authority visit our
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From: Nigel Jones <[FOI #1039483 email]>
Sent: Thursday, October 19, 2023 2:22 PM
To: Foi <[email address]>
Subject: Freedom of Information request - SIA License Applications

CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the SIA. Do not click links
or open attachments unless you recognise the sender and know the content
is safe.

Dear Security Industry Authority,

Please could you provide a count of the number of applications you
received for a SIA license in each of the following periods:

2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023 YTD

Please could you also provide a breakdown of how many of the applicants
were classed as UK Citizens and list all the other nationalities along
with a count of how many applicants were of that nationality.

Please also provide a count of how many of the applicants had spent 6
continuous months or more outside the UK in the previous 6 months before
their application.

Yours faithfully,

Nigel Jones

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Thank you for your request for information under the Freedom of
Information Act (FOIA).

If your email does not relate to an FOIA request, we will not be able to
assist you. For other enquiries, please contact us from your Portal
Account or the [1]Contact Us link on our website. 

Kind regards,

Freedom of Information Team

The information in this email may be confidential and legally privileged.
It is intended solely for the addressee and others authorised to receive
it. If you are not the intended recipient, please immediately delete this
email and all copies of it from your system, and notify the sender. Any
disclosure, printing, copying, or distribution of this message is
prohibited if you are not the intended recipient. Whilst all efforts are
made to safeguard emails, we cannot guarantee that attachments are virus
free, and we do not accept liability in respect of viruses or computer
problems experienced.

For further information about the Security Industry Authority visit our
website [2]www.gov.uk/sia, follow us on Twitter or find us on Facebook.

References

Visible links
1. https://www.sia.homeoffice.gov.uk/Pages/...
2. https://www.gov.uk/sia

Thank you for your request for information under the Freedom of
Information Act (FOIA).

If your email does not relate to an FOIA request, we will not be able to
assist you. For other enquiries, please contact us from your Portal
Account or the [1]Contact Us link on our website. 

Kind regards,

Freedom of Information Team

The information in this email may be confidential and legally privileged.
It is intended solely for the addressee and others authorised to receive
it. If you are not the intended recipient, please immediately delete this
email and all copies of it from your system, and notify the sender. Any
disclosure, printing, copying, or distribution of this message is
prohibited if you are not the intended recipient. Whilst all efforts are
made to safeguard emails, we cannot guarantee that attachments are virus
free, and we do not accept liability in respect of viruses or computer
problems experienced.

For further information about the Security Industry Authority visit our
website [2]www.gov.uk/sia, follow us on Twitter or find us on Facebook.

References

Visible links
1. https://www.sia.homeoffice.gov.uk/Pages/...
2. https://www.gov.uk/sia

Dear Mr Jones,

I acknowledge receipt of your email dated 1 November 2023 requesting an
internal review of the response to the FOI request which was received on
19 October 2023.  Firstly, I wish to apologise for the delay it has taken
in responding to your request for an internal review which took place in
early November 2023.  Due to IT issues, the internal review response did
not send from my outbox when it was prepared.

Your request for an internal review has been made on the basis that the
information provided is not what you requested, given that you requested
information about the number of applications.

I have looked at the original request dated 19 October 2023 which is for
‘A count of the number of applications you received for a SIA license in
each of the following periods: 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023 YTD’.

Having looked at the response from the SIA I note that you were sent a
link to a Report titled ‘SIA licence applications’ which provides a
breakdown of the number of applications by licensing sector received for
the periods that you have requested in your FOI Request.  This information
is obtained by clicking the third tab on the bottom of the report.

I am therefore satisfied that you have been provided with the number of
applications received for SIA licences in the periods specified above. 
You have asked two further questions in the request for an internal
review, namely:

• Are you saying that 100% of applications received result in an SIA
license being awarded?
• Are the figures in the spreadsheet that you linked the number of new
licenses issued that month or are they the total number of licenses in
circulation at that point? If it is the latter then my request has not
been answered.

I have provided a response to these additional questions below:

• Are you saying that 100% of applications received result in an SIA
license being awarded?

The information found in the ‘SIA licence applications’ tab only shows the
applications that have been received and does not provide details of those
awarded, refused or withdrawn.

• Are the figures in the spreadsheet that you linked the number of new
licenses issued that month or are they the total number of licenses in
circulation at that point? If it is the latter then my request has not
been answered

The information found in the ‘SIA licence applications’ tab shows the
number of licence application received by the SIA each month.

Next steps

If you are not happy with the response to this internal review of the SIA
response to your FOI request you can make a complaint to the Information
Commissioners Office who can be contacted at: Information Commissioners
Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire SK9 5AF. 

They also have an online complaints form at:
[1]https://ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint/offi...

Yours sincerely,

Caroline Hayward

Principal Legal Advisor

Legal Services

My pronouns are she/her

 
Security Industry Authority 

[2]www.gov.uk/sia  
   

The information in this email may be confidential and legally privileged.
It is intended solely for the addressee and others authorised to receive
it. If you are not the intended recipient, please immediately delete this
email and all copies of it from your system, and notify the sender. Any
disclosure, printing, copying, or distribution of this message is
prohibited if you are not the intended recipient. Whilst all efforts are
made to safeguard emails, we cannot guarantee that attachments are virus
free, and we do not accept liability in respect of viruses or computer
problems experienced.

For further information about the Security Industry Authority visit our
website [3]www.gov.uk/sia, follow us on Twitter or find us on Facebook.

From: Nigel Jones <[FOI #1039483 email]>
Sent: Wednesday, November 1, 2023 11:31 AM
To: Foi <[email address]>
Subject: Internal review of Freedom of Information request - SIA License
Applications

CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the SIA. Do not click links
or open attachments unless you recognise the sender and know the content
is safe.

Dear Foi,

You have stated that the information is exempt because it is already
available and provided a link. However the link that you have provided
only provides information about the total number of licenses. This is not
what i requested. I requested information about the number of
applications.

Are you saying that 100% of applications received result in an SIA license
being awarded?
Are the figures in the spreadsheet that you linked the number of new
licenses issued that month or are they the total number of licenses in
circulation at that point? If it is the latter then my request has not
been answered.

I request an internal review into how my request has been handled.

Yours sincerely,

Nigel Jones

show quoted sections

Dear Mr Jones,

Thank you for your email dated 19 December 2023 bringing to my attention
that one aspect of your FOI request remained outstanding and your patience
in this matter.

Please find attached a spreadsheet breaking down the applications by
nationality for the years 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023.

I trust that the provision of this further information satisfies your
initial FOI request.

Next steps 

If you are not happy with the response to this internal review of the SIA
response to your FOI request you can make a complaint to the Information
Commissioners Office who can be contacted at:

Information Commissioners Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow,
Cheshire SK9 5AF. 

They also have an online complaints form at:
[1]https://ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint/offi...

Kind Regards,

Caroline Hayward

Principal Legal Advisor

Legal Services

My pronouns are she/her

 
Security Industry Authority 

[2]www.gov.uk/sia  
   

The information in this email may be confidential and legally privileged.
It is intended solely for the addressee and others authorised to receive
it. If you are not the intended recipient, please immediately delete this
email and all copies of it from your system, and notify the sender. Any
disclosure, printing, copying, or distribution of this message is
prohibited if you are not the intended recipient. Whilst all efforts are
made to safeguard emails, we cannot guarantee that attachments are virus
free, and we do not accept liability in respect of viruses or computer
problems experienced.

For further information about the Security Industry Authority visit our
website [3]www.gov.uk/sia, follow us on Twitter or find us on Facebook.

References

Visible links
1. https://ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint/offi...
2. https://bit.ly/2NU9wrs
3. https://www.gov.uk/sia