§ Mr. SpellarTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement about the security implications of using hire car companies to transport Government Ministers rather than directly employed drivers. [37149]
§ Sir Paul Beresford[holding answer 16 October 1995]: Ministers, in the main, are provided with cars and drivers through the Government car service. All GCS drivers are security cleared to an appropriate level.
During busy periods, the Government car service will sometimes use private companies under contract. In all cases, drivers have the necessary security clearances. Very occasionally, to meet unusual requirement, a private company may be employed which is used so infrequently that security clearances are not justified. In such cases, the involvement of a Minister is not advertised to the company in advance. No substantive security implication therefore arises.