§ Harry CohenTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many private security contractors are employed by the UK to protect its interests, individuals and agencies in(a) Iraq and (b) other countries abroad; in what roles they are 308W employed; under which budget heads, including those of other Departments, the costs fall; what the current annual cost is on those budget heads where the main costs fall; and if he will make a statement. [177077]
§ Mr. RammellOn Iraq, I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave my hon. Friend the Member for Liverpool, Walton (Mr. Kilfoyle) on 25 May 2004,Official Report, column 1573W.
Many of our overseas missions employ private security contractors but the detailed information requested on the numbers involved is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate costs. The majority of these contracts provide personnel to work as static guards at our missions and at staff accommodation in countries where the security situation warrants that level of protection. In some of our high-risk posts we use contract guards to provide a quick reaction force and to act as individual bodyguards. The costs of these contract guards fall under administration and programme budgets, which are devolved to regional and functional directorates within the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. The directorates then disburse funds to posts. Not including Iraq, approximately £6 million was allocated to fund contract guarding in the financial year 2003–04.