§ Mr. GeorgeTo ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the number of private security firms currently employed by his Department, the number of employees for each firm on the contract, the total value of each contract and the total value of all contracts for each financial year since 1984–85.
§ Mr. DorrellThe Department employs four private security firms. The anticipated total expenditure on these contracts for 1991–92 is £800,000.
To provide individual contract values would breach commercial confidentiality. Since a smaller number of firms were employed in earlier years, that would also be the effect of revealing the total expenditure for any previous year.
To provide information about the number of employees involved would be prejudicial to maintaining security.