Government Office Cleaning Lord VAIZEY asked Her Majesty's Government:The Percentage of Government offices: (a) in London,(b) outside London, cleaned by contract cleaning companies for each year since 1970 and if they will detail the cost. Lord PEART The information requested is not available centrally and could not be obtained without disproportionate cost. However, a survey carried out in 1970 on behalf of the National Board for Prices and Incomes in connection with their investigation into Pay and Conditions in the Contract Cleaning Trade (NBPI Report No. 168) indicated that approximately two-thirds of the total area of Government offices was then cleaned under contract and one-third by directly employed labour. I have no evidence to suggest that these proportions have altered significantly since 1970.The NBPI report gives the cost of cleaning Government offices by contract in 1970 as approximately £4 million. Information readily available centrally about the cost of contract cleaning is incomplete and in any case shows only the Estimates provision for the years 1975–76 and 1976–77. These figures are: --------------------------------------- |Department | --------------------------------------- |Agriculture, Fisheries and Food | --------------------------------------- |Customs and Excise | --------------------------------------- |Defence | --------------------------------------- |Employment | --------------------------------------- |Environment/PSA (a) | --------------------------------------- |Health and Social Security | --------------------------------------- |Home Office | --------------------------------------- |Inland Revenue | --------------------------------------- |Lord Chancellor's Office | --------------------------------------- |National Savings | --------------------------------------- |Trade and Industry | --------------------------------------- |Scottish Office (Central Services)(b)| --------------------------------------- |Other Departments | --------------------------------------- | | --------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------- |1975–76|£11·2 million (including Supplementary Estimates)| ----------------------------------------------------------- |1976–77|£12·4 million (excluding Supplementary Estimates)| ----------------------------------------------------------- Lord VAIZEY asked Her Majesty's Government:The number of directly employed cleaners in each of the main Government Departments: (a) in London,(b) outside London, for each year since 1970. Lord PEART Departmental returns for the years in question do not differentiate between staff employed n London and elsewhere. The following numbers of non-industrial cleaners are expressed as full-time equivalents, with two part-time cleaners counted as on; full-time cleaner:House adjourned at five minutes past eleven o'clock.