Security and Counter Terrorism

The Government has enlisted the BVRLA to act as an approved partner to monitor and assess compliance against its Rental Vehicle Security Scheme. This will see all Rental and Commercial Vehicle member organisations automatically signed-up to the scheme as part of BVRLA membership. Monitoring compliance with the scheme has formed part of the association’s governance programme since 1 January 2020.

The BVRLA has been instrumental in leading the vehicle rental sector’s response to the threat of vehicles being used as a weapon in acts of terror. Since 2017, following a spate of attacks in the UK, the association and its members have been working more closely and with more frequency with law enforcement and government to explore ways of mitigating the threat.

In its National Counter-Terrorism Strategy, CONTEST, the UK Government outlined its commitment to working with the vehicle rental sector on measures to improve counter-terrorism security awareness through training and best practice guidance.

The BVRLA has led the industry response by providing free-to-access training resources and has also updated its Code of Conduct to encourage members to embed a culture of security vigilance throughout their organisations, full details of the changes to the Code of Conduct and what members need to do to comply are on the fact sheets available below.

What is the UK Rental Vehicle Security Scheme?

The Department for Transport introduced a Rental Vehicle Security Scheme (RVSS) which aims to increase counter-terrorism awareness and preparedness across the sector and mitigate the risk of rental vehicles being used as weapons in acts of terror.

The voluntary scheme, which is open to all UK vehicle hire firms offering short-term rental to consumers, has been developed in collaboration with the BVRLA and other key industry partners, and requires participating firms to meet a set of requirements outlined in a 10-point Code of Practice, including a commitment to:

Lawfully share data and information with law enforcement
Train staff to identify and report suspicious behaviour
Appoint a recognised security contact
Only accept electronic payment for all or part of the transaction

The association believes that the scheme demonstrates participating firms’ commitment to taking security seriously and it helps in the fight against terrorism. The Government has enlisted the BVRLA to act as an approved partner to monitor and assess compliance against its Rental Vehicle Security Scheme, full details are available in the fact sheets available below.

What is ACT (Action Counters Terrorism)?

In March 2017, National Counter Terrorism Policing launched ACT (Action Counters Terrorism), a new branding platform which incorporates all of UK’s counter-terrorism external campaigns to warn, inform and reassure the public.

Counter Terrorism Policing is a collaboration of UK police forces working alongside the UK intelligence agencies to protect the public and our national infrastructure.

It is now more important than ever that everyone plays their part in tackling terrorism. That’s why Action Counters Terrorism (ACT) is encouraging communities across the country to help the police tackle terrorism and save lives by reporting suspicious behaviour and activity.

If you suspect it, report it in confidence at gov.uk/ACT or in an emergency dial 999.