Security Market Report: June 2026

The Month in One Line

June 2026 brought the largest single month of NHS security contract renewals in three years, driven by the NHS Security Management Service's updated standards.

What Moved in June

NHS manned guarding: following NHS Security Management Service revised standards (effective April 2026), trusts that had extended incumbent contracts beyond their original term were required to re-procure. Sixteen trusts published fresh manned guarding tenders in June. Average contract value: £2.8m over 3 years. Nineteen SIA-licensed officers per trust is the new minimum standard requirement.

Council CCTV and surveillance: ten councils published CCTV infrastructure renewal contracts in June, driven by equipment reaching end-of-life (many systems installed 2011-2014 are now obsolete). Analogue-to-IP migration and AI-assisted monitoring are standard requirements in new specifications.

Access control and building security systems: the Government Security Function published updated physical security standards for all government-occupied buildings in June. This triggered access control system reviews in 34 central government bodies, with procurement to follow in Q3.

Event security: with the summer festival and events calendar at full capacity, 22 councils and public venues published event security framework notices or one-off event contracts in June.

Who Is Buying Right Now

• NHS Trusts: mental health trusts are the most active buyer type. The 2026 NHS mental health safety framework specifically requires enhanced security staffing. Seven mental health trusts had live procurement in June.
• Universities: with student arrival season in September, 14 universities published security services contracts in June.
• Transport authorities: TfL and six regional transport executives published station and network security contracts.

Forward Signals for July

Home Office Protect Duty (Martyn's Law) secondary legislation publishes in July. This will impose new security requirements on venues with 800+ capacity. The procurement ripple effect for security services, barriers, and detection equipment will be significant through Q3 and Q4.

The Number That Matters

£2.8m — average value of NHS manned guarding contracts procured in June 2026. The uplift from previous contracts (typically £1.9m) reflects both wage inflation and the new minimum staffing standards.

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