§ Mr. FrenchTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the capital cost of the Secret Intelligence Service headquarters building that is currently under construction at Vauxhall.
§ Mr. Douglas HoggI have been asked to reply.
The cost of the Vauxhall site and office construction is in the region of £150 million. The cost of adaptation, which will be borne out of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office vote, is estimated to be of the order of £90 million.
§ Mr. FrenchTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will state the reasons why the Secret Intelligence Service is moving from its existing office accommodation to a new building at Vauxhall.
§ Mr. Douglas HoggI have been asked to reply.
The new building at Vauxhall will provide SIS with the facilities it needs to undertake its important work.
§ Mr. FrenchTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what alternative sites were considered for the relocation of the Secret Intelligence Service headquarters building.
§ Mr. Douglas HoggI have been asked to reply.
As is normal Government practice in projects of this type, a large number of sites were considered.
§ Mr. FrenchTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the cost per square foot of the office space currently used by the Secret Intelligence Service; and what will be the corresponding cost in the new headquarters building at Vauxhall.
§ Mr. Douglas HoggI have been asked to reply.
The contractual rent of the present headquarters of SIS is some £9 per square foot. Since the Government own the freehold of the building at Vauxhall, there is no directly comparable rent. But the value used as the basis for acquisition in 1989 was £29 per square foot.
§ Mr. FrenchTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what representations he has received concerning security arrangements at the new Secret Intelligence Service headquarters building.
§ Mr. Douglas HoggI have been asked to reply.
It has been the policy of successive Governments not to comment on matters of this nature.