House of Commons Commission written question – answered at on 8 May 2024.
To ask the hon. Member for Broxbourne, representing the House of Commons Commission, pursuant to the Answer of 26 April 2024 to Question 22724 on Parliamentary Estate: Security, if the Commission will publish a breakdown of the (a) 4,132 staff and (b) 4,236 contractors with valid security passes by (i) profession and (ii) Department.
It is not possible to breakdown passholder data by profession, but we are able to segregate the data by Department at the time of application. The pass issuing system is not an HR system so the data will never accurately reflect payroll due to the frequency of staff moving between Departments.
It should be noted that not all staff and contractors who hold passes work on the Parliamentary Estate full time, and that contractors in particular may only hold a pass for a limited time period and/or for limited buildings in accordance with business need.
The following data is a snapshot of staff of both Houses and contractors broken down by Department, from 30 April 2024:
Commons and Bicameral Staff | Pass Count |
Chamber and Participation | 570 |
Parliamentary Digital Service | 537 |
Security | 491 |
416 | |
Select Committee Team | 298 |
Strategic Estates | 308 |
Research and Information | 219 |
Parliamentary Maintenance Department | 159 |
Finance Portfolio and Performance | 124 |
People and Culture | 113 |
Office of the Executive | 73 |
Governance Office | 38 |
Restoration and Renewal Client Team | 24 |
23 | |
Independent Complaints and Grievance | 11 |
Grand Total | 3404 |
Pass Count | |
Staff | 705 |
Contractors | 89 |
Grand Total | 794 |
Detailed data for the House of Lords Administration has not been included as it is a separate organisation.
Delivery Authority | Pass Count |
Staff* | 184 |
Contractors | 256 |
Grand Total | 440 |
*Listed in Answer of 26 April 2024 to Question 22724 under category ‘(g) any other category’
All other contractors
Sponsor | Pass Count |
Strategic Estates | 2500 |
Parliamentary Maintenance Department | 710 |
Customer Experience and Service Delivery | 285 |
Parliamentary Digital Service | 133 |
Chamber and Participation | 113 |
Outside Organisations | 87 |
Security | 65 |
People and Culture | 65 |
Research and Information | 47 |
Select Committee Team | 14 |
Restoration and Renewal Client Team | 11 |
Finance Portfolio and Performance | 8 |
Governance Office | 7 |
Office of the Executive | Fewer than five* |
Independent Complaints and Grievance | Fewer than five |
Speaker’s Office** | Fewer than five |
Grand Total | 4051 |
* Some numbers have been withheld owing to the low numbers of individuals involved (fewer than five), and disclosing this data may make it possible for individuals to be identified.
** The Speaker directly sponsors passes for Members of the Armed Forces doing secondments and UK representatives of overseas territories. These positions are not funded by the House of Commons and total 18 passes.
Yes3 people think so
No2 people think not
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