Lord Martin of Springburn
Main Page: Lord Martin of Springburn (Crossbench - Life peer)(13 years, 10 months ago)
Lords ChamberMy Lords, I thank the noble Lord for his exposition of the Opposition’s position on this matter, but to answer his question, it is true that the Government have failed to leverage their position. Perhaps I may give an example that in fact stems from the previous Government, energy, which is a very good example of what can be achieved by using leverage. The purchase of 75 per cent of electricity and gas requirements has been centralised in an expert team, resulting in cumulative savings of £500 million. That is a substantial sum and something worth achieving.
My Lords, I do not doubt that the senior officers of both Houses will be looking at efficiencies for this great historic building of ours. Can I ask for assurance that, in doing so, we never reduce the standard of security? I ask this not for selfish reasons, but because we have a dedicated staff of thousands of people here, as well as thousands of visitors. We owe it to them to make sure that security is not loosened in any way because of so-called efficiencies.
My Lords, I think I can reassure the noble Lord on that point because I have read Sir Philip’s recommendations, and there is no recommendation on security matters. However, I am sure that the appropriate committee of this House and the other place will make any necessary judgments on these matters.