§ Mr. GroganTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many employees he estimates are likely to be transferred into the private sector under the Airfield Support Services Projects; and how many of these are employed by his Department's Fire Service. [133429]
§ Mr. IngramNo decisions about ASSP will be made until the Consortia bids have been fully evaluated. We would need to be satisfied that a Private Finance Initiative/Public Private Partnership solution offered the most cost-effective solution for the provision of airfield support and wider fire services without compromising operational effectiveness or safety before we decided to outsource this activity. Should a PFI/PPP solution be adopted approximately 2,100 civilian staff would be affected, of which it is estimated that some 1,800 would be eligible for transfer (under the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Act 1981). Of the latter some 1,500 are Defence Fire Service personnel.