55.Subsection (1) empowers the Secretary of State to provide, by regulations, that only approved contractors may provide specified security services. This might be done in relation to any specified activities. Regulations made under this subsection would thereby turn the voluntary approved suppliers scheme into a compulsory one.
56.Subsection (2) makes it an offence to contravene any prohibition imposed
by regulations under subsection (1). The effect of this is that, if the voluntary approved contractors scheme is ever made compulsory, it will be an offence to provide specified security services without being an approved contractor. Subsection (3) makes it an offence for a person who has approved contractor status to contravene any conditions attached to the approval. The penalty is set out in subsection (4).
57.Subsection (5) allows the Secretary of State, under the compulsory scheme, to build into individual approvals conditions about the handling of complaints against the relevant firm, and more generally relating to the arrangements relating to the introduction of the compulsory scheme.