Key insights from Security Minister's speech at ISE 2025 and its impact on the Security industry

Iryna Glashan
22 minutes ago
3 min read

Parliament Street SW1 sign in Westminster, London near UK government buildings, national security and policy context.

Security Minister Dan Jarvis MBE MP delivered a keynote speech at the International Security Expo (ISE) 2025 in London, to outline the UK’s national security priorities and warn of growing threats, including cyber crime, fraud, terrorism, hostile state activity and border risks, citing recent cyber attacks on Heathrow and other major organisations as evidence of rising global instability.

The VettingGateway team exhibited at the ISE and has prepared the following overview of the key points from the speech.

Partnership Between Government and Industry

A central theme of Minister’s speech was the importance of collaboration between the public and private sectors. He stated that the UK security industry is “fundamental to our national security” and highlighted its role in economic growth. According to figures shared in the speech:

The UK security sector employs 148,250 people
Turnover has grown 176% in the last 10 years
Security exports have increased by 244%
In 2024, the sector achieved £24 billion turnover

Jarvis said that this growth has been driven by demand for innovation in areas such as artificial intelligence, digital forensics, border screening technology, cyber resilience and counter-drone capability.

Support for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs)

The Security Minister placed strong emphasis on support for SMEs within the security industry. He referred to a range of funding mechanisms available to support SME growth, including Innovate UK, the British Business Bank, the National Security Strategic Investment Fund, UK Export Finance and the Defence and Security Accelerator (DASA). He stated that SMEs will continue to play an important role in building sovereign capability and confirmed that government procurement and funding processes are being aligned to improve market access for innovative UK security companies.

UK national security strategy and defence alignment

Jarvis confirmed that the government has committed to investing 5 per cent of GDP in national security by 2035 as part of the National Security Strategy. He explained that this investment will sit alongside the Strategic Defence Review to form a “whole-of-UK approach” covering government, industry and operational infrastructure.

He also noted that his ministerial responsibilities now extend across both the Home Office and the Cabinet Office to strengthen national security coordination.

Implementation of Martyn’s Law

The Minister provided an update on the Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act, widely known as Martyn’s Law, introduced in memory of Martyn Hett, who was killed in the Manchester Arena attack in 2017. The legislation requires certain venues and publicly accessible locations to improve their security measures and preparedness. Jarvis confirmed a 24-month implementation period before the legislation comes fully into effect, giving organisations time to understand and meet the new requirements. The Home Office and the Security Industry Authority (SIA) have already briefed over 1,000 organisations as part of early engagement activity to support implementation.

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Let’s set our sights even higher, let’s break new ground in our quest for new and better solutions to the challenges we face and let’s make the partnerships we already depend on stronger than ever. That is, I think, the way forward, and it is the way we will build a stronger, more secure country for us all.

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Dan Jarvis MBE MP, Security Minister of the United Kingdom

Future of the Security Industry Authority (SIA)

Upcoming changes to SIA regulations were also confirmed. These include stricter checks on criminal history when applying for a licence and tougher action against poor training providers. The SIA may also bring in higher-level criminal record checks for some security roles to improve public safety.

The government restated its promise to deliver the Manchester Arena Inquiry recommendations and said more laws could follow if needed. A new industry group called the S12 was also announced to help the government and the SIA work more closely with the private security sector to raise standards.

VettingGateway and AirportGateway support the security industry by providing compliant background checks, including DBS, Right to Work, employment references, FCA screening, criminal record checks and many others. We also streamline and automate ID pass applications to increase compliance, reduce insider risk and improve workforce security in highly regulated and security-sensitive industries.

Book a quick call with us to stay aligned with SIA regulations and the UK’s National Security Strategy.

Source: Speech by Security Minister Dan Jarvis MBE MP, International Security Expo 2025, published by the Home Office on GOV.UK under the Open Government Licence.

Image by Gary Walker-Jones