§ 48. Mr. de Freitasasked the Secretary of State for Air how many Royal Air Force stations employ private contractors in conditions which allow them to make a profit out of feeding officers and airmen; and whether the number has increased during the last three years.
Mr. WardAt one R.A.F. station, the catering is provided under a contract let in 1958. A contract is about to be let at another station, and tenders are being invited for four more. In addition, there are three small units where the servicing contracts, one of which was let during the last three years, include the provision of meals for a few Royal Air Force personnel.
§ Mr. de FreitasCan the Secretary of State say whether this matter is still experimental, as he assured us a year or two ago in the Air Estimates debate, or is there any Government policy to hand this over to private catering?
Mr. WardIt is really no longer experimental, but it does take time to get the thing going. Eventually, we shall have a mixture of private contract, direct labour and N.A.A.F.I.