§ Mr. Georgeasked the Secretary of State for Energy how many private security firms are employed by his Department or bodies associated with his Department; how many personnel are employed, at which locations, on what responsibilities and duties, and at what annual cost; what have been the comparable figures for each of the last three years; and what estimates he has made as to the likely figures for 1984.
§ Mr. Peter WalkerIt is Government policy to contract out services such as security guarding on non-sensitive sites when this is cost effective and makes good management sense. The Department of Energy does this at one such site where a watchman from a security 257W organisation is employed to safeguard a building during silent hours. This arrangement has been in existence for more than three years and we anticipate its continuance for at least another year. The actual cost of this service is a matter of commercial confidentiality between the Department and the contractor concerned but it is not a significant portion of our overall security costs.