Door Industry Journal - Winter 2019

Also online at: www.dijonline.co.uk THE door industry journal winter 2019 Industry News 8 MLA Uses Official Launch of New Headquarters to Call for UK Wide Licensing of Locksmiths The only organisation regulating and licensing its member locksmiths in the UK, the Master Locksmiths Association, has invested in new headquarters in Rugby and used the centre’s official launch to call on the Government to legislate to protect the public against rogue locksmiths. The Association, which has circa 1,400 members, would like the Government to make MLA registration compulsory for all UK locksmiths. It is also keen to raise public awareness about the need to use official MLA registered locksmiths to protect themselves and their properties. The MLA was established in the late 1950s and has grown in membership and stature over the past 60+ years. For the past decade, it has been calling on the Government to take action against rogue traders who bring the industry into disrepute and put the public’s safety at risk. The Master Locksmiths Association is the only locksmithing authority recognised by the Police, Home Office and other leading organisations including the British Standards Institute. To regulate the industry and bring all locksmiths under the compulsory licensing of the MLA, the Association wants MLA membership to be compulsory and recommends that the Government introduce a registration scheme for locksmiths similar to the one that operates for Gas Engineers. Before Gas Engineers can start work, they need relevant industry competences and to be registered on the Government authorised ‘Gas Safe’ scheme. The MLA would like to see similar constraints operating for locksmiths. The MLA’s preference would be to emulate parts of the system that currently operate in Ireland where it is not only illegal to trade as a locksmith without a license, but equally importantly, illegal to use the services of an unlicensed locksmith. Legislation would be needed in the UK to make the MLA a compulsory industry regulator, a major obstacle as the current Government is loath to be seen to be putting extra burdens on small businesses. Most UK locksmiths are sole traders, or small businesses. The Association would be ideally placed to monitor and manage a national locksmith-licensing scheme as it successfully campaigned for a change to the law on vetting of locksmiths in 2009, with the result that following debates in the House of Commons and House of Lords the MLA was added to the Exceptions order for the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act, effectively making the only way locksmiths can get standard criminal record checks, DBS checked, is through their MLA membership. As well as running a licensing, registering and vetting scheme the MLA also provides professional training courses for all its members. The investment in the new headquarters has expanded the MLA’s training capabilities and the Association hopes to increase the number of locksmiths trained each year. With MLA licensing for all locksmiths a long-term goal, the MLA’s more immediate focus is to raise public awareness about the need to use MLA registered businesses and to highlight the risks associated with using rogue locksmiths who pose a significant threat to property, possessions and personal safety. Dr Steffan George, Managing Director of the Master Locksmiths Association said: “We are entering a new chapter in MLA’s 60-year history with our brand-new headquarters and training facility in Rugby. We are confident that this move will help us attract and train more locksmiths but more importantly it will help us raise public awareness about the importance of using MLA approved locksmiths for all lock and security protection in domestic and commercial properties. We will continue to lobby Government for legislative change to make MLA registration compulsory for all UK locksmiths.” www.locksmiths.co.uk