The four year contract is with the MOD’s People, Pay and Pensions Agency (PPPA), which provides pay and personnel administration services for the MOD’s 80,000 civilian staff.   The contract will cover over 200 MOD locations at which G4S will be one of the contractors augmenting the existing MOD Guard Service personnel as ad hoc requirements arise.

To coordinate the contract G4S will operate a National Control Centre (NCC), which will be based in Leeds and staffed with former British military personnel.  The NCC will provide the MOD with qualified officers to enable requests for planned and short notice coverage 24 hours a day and all year round.  The G4S officers will all be cleared against the Government’s mandated Baseline Personnel Security Standard or Counter Terrorist Check.

G4S already delivers a wide range of services to the MOD including: provision of pre-deployment training services for British Army personnel and contractors deploying to Iraq and Afghanistan; the design, build and ongoing facilities management of the Met Office in Exeter; managing the Enhanced Learning Credit initiative; as well as providing protective security and Close Protection services to all UK diplomatic personnel in Afghanistan.

David Taylor-Smith, CEO of G4S Secure Solutions UK and Ireland, commented: “We are delighted to have been awarded this excellent contract which further extends our support to the MOD in the UK.  We believe the private sector has the potential to provide far greater support to our armed forces across the full life of service careers, primarily by relieving some of the pressure from carrying out non-core tasks.  We look forward to working with the PPPA team to deliver an efficient and effective service.”