§ Mr. GeorgeTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many private security firms have been employed by her Department for each of the last 10 years; what has been the annual value of the contracts; and if she will estimate how many guards have been employed for each of those years.
§ Mr. JackThe following is the number of private firms employed for each financial year with the calculated annual total value of all contracts and the guards employed. The figures do not include the employment of guards on a short-term ad hoc basis.
Number of firms Value (£'000) Guard posts 1984–85 7 170 18 1985–86 7 277 20 1986–87 7 297 20 1987–88 7 312 20 1988–89 7 329 20 1989–90 7 358 21 1990–91 7 469 21 1991–92 7 534 22 1992–93 8 650 23 1993–94 8 705 23 Increases in recent years in the cost of guarding is due to the provision of more comprehensive security cover at a number of vulnerable sites.