Parliamentary Estate: Security
The question
To ask the hon. Member for Blaenau Gwent and Rhymney, representing the House of Commons Commission, how many parliamentary passes were revoked for security reasons in each year since 2015.
Answered by Nick Smith
We are not able to provide the number of parliamentary passes that were revoked for security reasons in each year since 2015. The pass system is a live database with accounts being deleted routinely in line with the data retention schedule, records are therefore not available in the way requested over the period.
The Parliamentary Security Department (PSD) can revoke passes on security grounds. This may be because security clearance has been withdrawn, exclusion from the estate is necessary because of the risk to the wider parliamentary community, or because the passholder has exhibited unacceptable security behaviours. For the period that records are held, which is since 5 July 2024, PSD has fully revoked 10 passes on security grounds.
It is worth noting that PSD’s vetting unit also revokes passes at the request of the pass sponsors without requiring or recording a reason. The most common reason would be because the passholder has left employment requiring access to the estate, but if there were security reasons behind their request this may not be specified.
Verbatim has judged this answer against the question that was actually asked — answered, partly answered, or evaded. Sign in to see the verdict →