Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many security passes into his Department are issued to people (a) not directly employed by and (b) who are not civil servants who work in his Department.

As at the 31^st of December 2016, the number of Building Access (security) passes issued by the Cabinet Office to people (a) not directly employed by and (b) who are not civil servants and who work or regularly visit the Cabinet Office was 39. The numbers of such passes will fluctuate over the course of a year.

Such passes are issued to contractors, secondees, other public sector workers or Crown Servant (such as the police or military forces) as well as to civil servants where it is necessary and appropriate to do so. This enables teams to work flexibly and effectively and best support the business need. The use of all such passes is underpinned by a strong physical security focus, access to control procedures and technologies, clear processes and assurance mechanisms that enable an integrated work force to operate in a secure manner.