HC Deb 25 April 1994 vol 242 c42W
Mr. Martyn Jones

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much his Department has spent on contracts with private detective agencies since 1991; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Key

The Department of Transport has spent approximately £760,000 on contracts with private detective agencies since April 1991.

Such agencies have been used for the following purposes:

  1. (a) to hand serve summonses in connection with prosecutions for failure to pay vehicle excise duty;
  2. (b) to collect evidence and hand serve papers on people who have trespassed on the Department's land;
  3. (c) to establish the whereabouts of people believed to have caused damage to the Department's roads and structures for the purpose of making claims against them;
  4. (d) to trace former employees who were inadvertently overpaid before they left the Department's employ;
  5. (e) in litigation action;
  6. (f) in one case to investigate a member of staff following complaints received from members of the public.