§ Mr. DenhamTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Clwyd, South-West (Mr. Jones) of 25 April,Official Report, column 42, if he will list all contracts with private detective agencies for the purpose of collecting evidence and serving papers on those who have trespassed on his Department's land, and the expenditure to date on each; how many former employees were inadvertently overpaid; and what was the total sum involved.
§ Mr. Key[holding answer 3 May 1994]: A single detective agency has been employed to serve papers and collect evidence on those who have trespassed on the Department's land. The recorded expenditure stands at £250,829.52p.
Detective agencies have also been used in connection with inadvertent overpayment of 15 staff, totalling £22,030.06p. Of this sum, £17,556.76p has been or is being recovered.