§ Mr. Haywardasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is (a) the current cost of each type of standard security case provided to civil servants and (b) the annual cost of providing such cases over each of the last five years.
§ Mr. Brooke(a) Four types of case are provided at prices ranging from £65 to £106 depending on the degree of security required.
(b) Her Majesty's Stationery Office estimates the annual costs at:
£ 1981–82 48,100 1982–83 56,500 1983–84 68,600 1984–85 100,800 1985–86 77,900 (c) These figures include the cost of the security locks which I regret were not included in the answer given to my hon. Friend's question on 9 May. If the cost of the locks had been included, those figures would have been approximately:
£ 1981–82 96,000 1982–83 132,000 1983–84 152,000 1984–85 180,000 1985–86 186,000
§ Mr. Haywardasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what factors account for the rise in the annual cost of providing civil servants with briefcases (a) between 1981–82 and 1982–83 and (b) between 1984–85 and 1985–86.
§ Mr. BrookeThere is no central record of any factors leading to a real growth in demand. However, the prices paid for the cases under Her Majesty's Stationery Office contracts increased between 12 and 16 per cent. between 1981–82 and 1982–83, and between 2 and 15 per cent. between 1984–85 and 1985–86.
§ Mr. Haywardasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will review the security standard and quality of briefcases and security cases provided to civil servants.
§ Mr. BrookeAll products offered by Her Majesty's Stationery Office are regularly reviewed to ensure that they continue to provide the best value for money in the light of technical developments and other factors.