Ratu Baleidraulu, director of Islanders Protection Security Services Ltd was fined £300, ordered to pay £1,624 court costs and a victim surcharge of £34. The company was also fined £250, ordered to pay £800 court costs and another victim surcharge of £34. The prosecution was brought by the Security Industry Authority (SIA) and it follows an investigation into the attempted use of a counterfeit licence at the Isle of Wight Festival.

The festival took place between 16-19 September 2021 and its lead security contractor, Main Event Security Services an SIA approved contractor, used several contractors to supply additional security. On 15 September Main Event Security Services Ltd was carrying out checks to ensure that the security operatives deployed were legally allowed to work at the festival. During this process they discovered a counterfeit licence. The licence was valid but did not belong to the man attempting to use it. man submitted a valid licence with an image of himself. The checks revealed that the licence was valid but it belonged to someone else and the company deduced the licence was counterfeit. The licence wasy retained the licence and the unknown man was escorted off the site. Later that day an SIA regional investigator carried out a routine inspection and Main Event Security Services handed the counterfeit licence over to them.

The case was referred to the SIA’s Criminal Investigation Team and who began an investigation and it was confirmed that the licence was a counterfeit. Main Event Security Services Ltd provided the SIA’s Criminal Investigation Team with the information to confirm that Islanders Protection Security Services Ltd were responsible for the deployment of the unknown man carrying the counterfeit licence.

Baleidraulu then failed to provide the required information to the SIA when requested and a prosecution was brought against both him and his company Islanders Protection Security Services Ltd. The person who held the legitimate licence confirmed that he had not worked at the Isle of Wight Festival.

Mark Chapman, the SIA’s Criminal Investigations Manager said:

The protection of the public at high-profile festivals is paramount. Main Event Security Services Ltd did exactly as would be expected of an approved contractor, by identifying and rejecting a suspicious licence through robust due diligence. Islander Security placed the public at risk by supplying a person who was not fit and proper and had not done the requisite training to protect the public. Baleidraulu has now had his Close Protection licence suspended and both he and his company have incurred significant fines and a criminal record. He had also not long been a director of a company and has been prosecuted.

As part of its drive to support public safety at festivals and events, the SIA has published updated guidance to ensure that people providing security services at events are compliant with the law. Throughout the summer the SIA will also be issuing further information and guidance to support security operatives as they carry out their duties at these events. SIA has published guidance here. Please read our latest blog on festival safety.

Notes to Editors:

The offences relating to the Private Security Industry Act (2001) that are mentioned above are as follows:

The Private Security Industry Act 2001 is available online via: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2001/12/contents

By law, security operatives working under contract must hold and display a valid SIA licence. Information about SIA enforcement and penalties can be found on the website.

The offence relating to the Private Security Industry Act (2001) that is mentioned above is as follows:

Information about SIA enforcement and penalties can be found on GOV.UK.

Further information:

• The Security Industry Authority is the organisation responsible for regulating the private security industry in the United Kingdom, reporting to the Home Secretary under the terms of the Private Security Industry Act 2001. Our main duties are: the compulsory licensing of individuals undertaking designated activities; and managing the voluntary Approved Contractor Scheme.

• For further information about the Security Industry Authority visit www.gov.uk/sia. The SIA is also on Facebook (Security Industry Authority) and Twitter (SIAuk).

Vulnerable children and families in England will be better supported by a fundamental shift in how children’s social care services are delivered, guided by the findings of an independent review of children’s social care published today.

The government is setting out initial new measures in response to recommendations set out in Josh MacAlister’s independent review of children’s social care, which looked at how children and their families interact with the care system and how it can be improved.

Families most at risk will be supported to stay safely together, with a focus on early help, preventing them from reaching crisis point.

As part of this, the Government has revealed plans to set up a new National Implementation Board of sector experts and people with experience of leading transformational change and the care system. It will also boost efforts to recruit more foster carers, increase support for social workers including on leadership, recruitment and retention, improve data sharing, and implement a new evidence-based framework for all the professionals working in children’s social care.

Seven areas of England will also receive funding to set up family hubs which offer early help and intervention, in recognition of the importance of strong, joined up local services as a foundation for an improved social care system.

Local authorities will also receive funding for schemes that support vulnerable children to remain engaged in their education and strengthen links between social care and education.

Education Secretary Nadhim Zahawi, said:

This is the start of a journey to change the culture and dramatically reform the children’s social care system. 

Everything we do to raise the outcomes for children and families must be backed by evidence. This report will be central in taking forward our ambition to ensure every child has a loving and stable home and we will continue working with experts and people who have experienced care to deliver change on the ground.

I am grateful to Josh MacAlister for his work, as well as to the families, young people, and professionals who shared their experiences. 

We are ready to meet the challenge set by this review and I will set out my plans for bold and ambitious change in the coming months.

The seven new areas receiving funding for Family Hubs will build on a successful network of centres that are already up and running and are making a transformative difference in the lives of parents who may not have an immediate support network. A further five areas will also receive part of a £12 million investment, in addition to the 75 areas that will receive part of a £302 million pot of funding, delivering on the manifesto commitment to a network of Family Hubs around the country.

Funding will also be provided to LAs for continued delivery of the Social Workers in Schools and Designated Safeguarding Lead Supervision programmes, building on successful pilots which have supported young people in hundreds of schools since launching in September 2020. Through strengthened working between social care and schools, they have helped improve early identification of need, provided better support for families from social care, and kept vulnerable young people engaged with their education, helping to boost attendance, behaviour and attainment.

To support vulnerable children to remain engaged in their education and strengthen links between social care and education, local authorities will also receive funding in 2022/23 to continue schemes that put social workers onsite in schools and provide designated safeguarding leads with supervision from senior social workers.

These measures respond to findings in today’s report which call for more help for families in crisis, decisive action in response to abuse, and a commitment for those in care to benefit from lifelong loving relationships. Plans to reform the system include:

• Setting up a National Implementation Board of sector experts and people with experience of leading transformational change, and with experience of the care system;
• Working with local authorities to boost efforts to recruit more foster carers, ensuring children have access to the right placements at the right time;
• Reframing and refocusing the support social workers receive in the early part of their careers, particularly to enhance their skills and knowledge in child protection;
• Joining up data from across the public sector to increase transparency – both between safeguarding partners and to the wider public, setting out more detail later this year; and
• Developing a National Children’s Social Care Framework, which will set direction for the system and point everyone to the best available evidence to support families and protect children.

Children’s Commissioner for England Dame Rachel de Souza said:

The publication of Josh MacAlister’s Review of Children’s Social Care is an important opportunity for all of us working with, and for, children. We must grasp this unique moment to deliver ambitious reform, designed around children and families. A system that delivers so we can properly shift the dial on their experiences and outcomes.

Whilst the publication of reviews is only ever the first stage in a process, and the ideas held in them only as good as their implementation, we must not underestimate the need to act – so many children’s lives and futures are at stake. Too many tell me they feel let down by the services designed to protect and support them, so let’s seize this chance to do better. We need everywhere to be as good as the best and we must have no tolerance for anything less than excellent.

I look forward to doing whatever I can to make this much needed reform a reality. We owe it to England’s children.

Today’s announcement builds on measures the government has taken to address the most urgent issues facing vulnerable young people, following a generous settlement for children’s social care at last autumn’s Spending Review.

This includes banning under-16s from unregulated accommodation, bringing in improved standards of care, providing the largest package of children’s social care placements since 2010, investing millions in programmes that support families in crisis and young people leaving the care system and working with experts to tackle the barriers to children’s school attendance.

Recruitment, retention and professional development of child and family social workers in England has also been prioritised, and backed by £100 million over the last two years alone. Through these efforts, the number of child and family social workers is increasing every year and the size of the workforce has grown by 14% since 2017.

A new £40 million competition to kick-start commercial self-driving services, such as delivery vehicles and passenger shuttles, has been launched today (Monday 23 May) by Lord Grimstone, Minister for Investment. The funding could create tens of thousands of skilled jobs across the UK over the next decade.

The ‘Commercialising Connected and Automated Mobility’ competition will provide grants to help roll out commercial use self-driving vehicles across the UK from 2025, delivering convenience for consumers and making journeys safer, greener and more reliable.

The competition will help bring together companies and investors so that sustainable business models to be rolled out nationally and exported globally.

Types of self-driving vehicles that could be deployed include delivery vans, passenger buses, shuttles and pods, as well as vehicles that move people and luggage at airports and containers at shipping ports.

Minister for Investment Lord Grimstone said:

Self-driving vehicles have the potential to revolutionise people’s lives, whether its by helping to better connect people who rely on public transport with jobs, local shops, and vital services, or by making it easier for those who have mobility issues to order and access services conveniently.

This funding will help unlock the incredible potential of this new and growing industry, building on the continued development of self-driving technology, attracting investment and helping make our transport cleaner, safer and more efficient.

Transport Minister Trudy Harrison said:

We know that self-driving vehicles have the potential to revolutionise the way we travel, making our future journeys cleaner, easier and more reliable. But our absolute priority is harnessing the technology to improve road safety.

With around 88% of road collisions currently caused by human error, this funding will drive the introduction of new technology to improve travel for all, while boosting economic growth and highly skilled jobs across the nation.

The competition will cement the UK’s reputation as a global leader in self-driving vehicle technology, unlocking a new industry that could be worth £42 billion to the UK economy by 2035, potentially creating 38,000 new skilled jobs.

£1.5 million of the funding will be used to study and explore using self-driving vehicles as a means of public transport that could provide an alternative to mass transit systems. This includes, for example, using self-driving vehicles on routes separated from other traffic that could be cheaper and more flexible than new railway lines.

The UK government is continuing to develop a comprehensive legal and assurance framework for self-driving vehicles to ensure the safety of the technology. The government announced a Transport Bill in the recent Queen’s Speech that will introduce comprehensive legislation for self-driving vehicles to enable safe and responsible deployment.

The first vehicles to be listed as self-driving in the UK – vehicles approved under the Automated Lane Keeping System (ALKS) Regulation – could be available for people to purchase, lease or rent later this year. Vehicles will undergo rigorous testing and will only be permitted to drive themselves when they have met stringent standards.

The work undertaken by the government and its partners has already ensured that the UK has a proven track record in leading connected and self-driving vehicle innovation, enabling joint public and private investment of £440 million.

Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders Chief Executive Mike Hawes said:

Self-driving vehicles offer major benefits to society – improving road safety, supporting new jobs and economic growth, and enabling greater mobility for everyone – so the UK is rightly seeking to be at the forefront of this technological evolution. Recent regulatory reforms have helped Britain establish itself as a leader in the rollout out of self-driving passenger vehicles, and today’s announcement is a significant step towards self-driving public transport and goods delivery services becoming a reality. This new funding competition will help drive innovation and, potentially, private investment in UK automotive, ensuring cutting-edge self-driving technology finds a clearer path to UK roads.

Notes to editors

Interested parties can find out more about the competition, which is run by the Centre for Connected and Autonomous Vehicles (CCAV).

Government will be introducing a comprehensive legal framework to ensure safe and responsible deployment of self-driving vehicles.

Vehicles will undergo rigorous testing and only be approved as self-driving when they have met stringent standards and can safely and lawfully drive themselves without driver monitoring.

Drivers with existing technology, such as assistance systems like cruise control, auto start/stop and lane tracking, must always remain in control of their vehicle – these products are not defined as self-driving.

Currently, there are no vehicles approved for self-driving on Britain’s roads meaning drivers must always remain in control of the vehicle.

In 2035, 80% of the Britain’s jobs relating to CAV technology production are estimated to be in software-related industries, where Britain’s capabilities are strong, the value of the technologies is high, and the labour intensity of production is high. The remaining 20% would be in the production of CAV hardware such as sensors. Over 90% of the jobs created in developing CAV software and over 80% of the jobs relating to the manufacture of CAV hardware are expected to be in professional, technical and skilled trade occupations.

Government is working closely with industry and academia to ensure that these safety benefits are realised as the technology becomes more advanced, for instance by educating drivers so that they understand how to use self-driving vehicles.

In 2020, 88% of road accidents were caused by human error. SMMT estimate self-driving vehicles to save 3,900 lives and prevent 47,000 serious accidents by 2030.

The potential economic and societal benefits of the technology in the UK are vast. The Connected Places Catapult market forecast for connected and autonomous vehicles 2020 forecasts that in 2035, 40% of new UK car sales could have self-driving capabilities, with a total market value of £41.7 billion. This could in turn create 38,000 new skilled jobs.

About the Centre for Connected and Autonomous Vehicles

The Centre for Connected and Autonomous Vehicles (CCAV) is a joint Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) and Department for Transport (DfT) unit. Established in 2015, CCAV is an expert unit that is working with industry and academia to make everyday journeys greener, safer, more flexible and more reliable by shaping the safe and secure emergence of connected and self-driving vehicles in the UK and by leading the government’s Future of Transport strategy.

CCAV is developing regulation, investing in innovation and skills and engaging the public to realise the benefits of new transport technologies and to create a thriving connected and self-driving vehicle sector in the UK. It uses its unique position to bring together world-class expertise from across the public, private and academic sectors to create an environment in the UK for new technologies and business models where innovation, safety and regulation are delivered in unison.