§ Mr. Dubsasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many personnel from private security firms are employed by his Department; from which firms; what are their responsibilities; what is the cost; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. WhitelawMy Department does not directly employ personnel from private security firms. It has contracts with a number of such firms to escort and detain, under the authority of the Immigration Service, persons held under the Immigration Act 1971, whenever this is not considered an appropriate use of police manpower; to safeguard cash in transit from banks to Home Office establishments in various parts of the country; and for the protection of some establishments. The number of employees from these firms engaged on this work varies according to the demand for their services.
Contracts are currently in existence with the following firms:
- Property Guards Ltd.
- Security Express Ltd.
- Securicor Ltd.
- Group 4 Total Security Ltd.
In addition, four other firms provide some security services at residential training establishments as part of their general responsibilities for catering and other services at those establishments.
The estimated cost of the services provided by private security firms in 1982–83 was £1,266,000 (excluding the cost of the security services at residential training establishments referred to above, since these are not readily identifiable).