Catering, Cooking and Mess Service (Experiment)

HC Deb 12 May 1958 vol 588 cc9-10W

Mr. de Freitas

asked the Secretary of State for Air whether he will make a statement on the nature and progress of his Department's catering experiment involving directly employed civilians, civilian contractors and the Navy, Army and Air Force Institutes.

Mr. Ward

The object of the experiment is to find out whether catering, cooking and mess service could be improved, or done more economically, if we changed over to wholly civilian staffs; placed contracts with catering firms; or handed the work over to N.A.A.F.I. Trials are in hand at three stations. At the first of these the replacement of airmen by civilians is virtually complete. At the second a contract for all messing has now been placed with a civilian firm who will take over in August. We hope that N.A.A.F.I. will take over at the third station at or about the same time.