Dear Mr Schofield,

Freedom of Information request F19-566

Thank you for your request for information dated 9 November 2019, received
by us on the 11 November 2019, which is copied below.

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From: Mr A Schofield <[FOI #618650 email]>
Sent: 09 November 2019 23:48
To: FOI Commons <[email address]>
Subject: Freedom of Information request - Parliamentary Security
Department

Dear House of Commons,

Pleas can you provide the following information about the Parliamentary
Security Department (PSD)?

a) Job Description / Person specification for each role within the PSD;
b) Rank/Grade insignia for each grade worn by uniform staff
c) Details of the pay scale for each grade with PSD, including any
enhancement (shift allowance, night rate, overtime rate, first aider pay
etc)
d) Total number of staff employed (FTE and headcount) by the PSD

Yours faithfully,

Andrew Schofield

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show quoted sections

Dear Mr Schofield,

Freedom of Information Request F19-566

Thank you for your request for information as copied below. You have asked
the House of Commons for four questions concerning staff within the
Parliamentary Security Department (PSD). Please find our responses to each
of your requests below.

Please note that the House of Commons and the House of Lords are separate
public authorities for the purposes of the Freedom of Information Act 2000
(FOIA). However, as PSD operate on a bicameral basis between the two
Houses, this response covers information held by both Houses of
Parliament.

 1. Please provide the job description/person specification for each role
within the PSD.

This information is held by the House of Commons. Please find the job
descriptions for each role within PSD attached.

 2. Please provide the rank/grade insignia for each grade worn by uniform
staff

This information is held by the House of Commons. Security Officers and
Security Officer Managers are issued epaulettes and Velcro and metal name
badges which include their titles. Security Operations Managers, Security
Operators (SOC) and Security Controllers (SOC) are issued with name badges
which include their titles.

 3. Please provide the details of the pay scale for each grade with PSD,
including any enhancement (shift allowance, night rate, overtime rate,
first aider pay etc)

This information is held by the House of Commons. Within PSD, there are a
number of staff across the following pay bands; SC2, SC1, A1, A2, B1, B2,
C, D1.  In addition, a number of staff were transferred to the employment
of the House of Commons from the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) under
the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations
(TUPE), so have retained slightly different pay bands of MPSD, MPSE and
MPST. The pay scales for each of these pay bands are provided below:

Pay SCS1 SCS2
Band
Maximum £                   £               
95,964.00 128,300.00
Minimum £                   £                 
75,953.00 85,000.00
Pay A1 A2 B1 B2 C D1
Band
Entry £                   £                   £                   £                   £   £ 
63,716.00 50,870.00 37,510.00 30,985.00             26,715.00             23,443.00
Maximum £                   £                  £                   £                   £   £ 
75,953.00  62,643.00 43,361.00 36,532.00             30,370.00             26,752.00
 

 
Pay
Band MPSD MPSE MPST
£                   £                   £                 
Entry 28,172.00 24,768.00 22,754.00
£                   £                   £      
Maximum 31,231.00 27,472.00            25,225.00

Information held by the House also details the allowances available to
eligible staff on House of Commons contracts:

House of Commons - Main Allowances Payable
Allowance Description   Pensionability

       (Yes/No)
First Aid Payment Paid to qualified staff who No
take on First Aider duties
Market Sector Allowance An additional payment that Yes*    
brings pay closer in line
with other salaries in the
relevant recruitment market
(used to address market
sector pay issues which 
create an unacceptable
business risk)
On-call and Standby Payable to staff required to Yes
Allowances be on-call or on standby to
provide urgent response to
critical business demands or
needs
Responsibility Allowance Formal management Yes
responsibility for staff in
  the same band in
circumstances where
re-banding of the post is
inappropriate
Shift Patterns and Payments Staff working non-standard Yes
(including Shift Disturbance hours as part of a rotating
Allowance) shift pattern. Varying
degrees of requirements to
work early, late and/or at
night and/or weekends/Bank
Holiday
Uniform Allowance A pensionable allowance is Yes
payable to staff who are
required to clean and
maintain ceremonial uniforms
Unsocial Hours Payment (UHP) Staff receive an annual UHP Yes
payment for each evening
  (Monday to Thursday) they
are contractually obliged to
stay for work until an
undefined finishing time. 
In addition to the UHP
payment they will receive
payment for the actual hours
they work after 6:00pm.
Payment can only be claimed
if they have already
completed an 8 hour day.

     * Market Sector Allowance will become pensionable with effect from 1
February 2019.

The allowances payable to the MPS TUPE staff are listed below:

o Inner London Zone 1 Allowance: £2,550 per annum
o Shift Disturbance Allowance: This allowance is paid as a percentage of
FTE salary pay and the rates payable are 20%, 15%, 12.5% and less than
12.5%.
o Flexibility Allowance: Variable dependant on circumstances but paid as
% of basic pay.
o Service Related Pay: After 9 years £309 per annum and after 15 years a
further £309 per annum. Rates frozen from 01/04/17 and not available
to staff appointed after 01/04/08.
o Deputising payments: A member of staff deputising in a higher band
receives deputising allowance at a rate of 8% of the band maximum of
their current pay band.

The table below outlines the overtime rates payable to House of Commons
staff:

Rates of overtime payments
Pay band Monday to Saturday Sunday & Bank/Public
Friday Holidays
E to C (except Time and a half Time and a half Time and a half
C-PTO)
B and C (PTO) Time and a half Double time Double time (or time and
a half, and half time
off in lieu if possible)
A Nil Plain time (plus Time and a half
half time TOIL, if
possible)
B-E staff in Plain time Plain time Plain time
receipt of a
25-30% shift
allowance

The overtime rates for MPS TUPE staff are listed below:

o Pay Band MPSD: Band 1 x 1.5 (Mon - Friday), Saturday x1.5 plus premium
at half-time rate; Sunday x2 or time-off in lieu plus a payment of
plain time rate. All pay bands: when working on public holidays:
payment at plain time rate plus time off in lieu or payment at double
time;
o Pay Band MPSE: Band 1 x 1.5 (Mon - Friday), Saturday x1.5 plus premium
at half-time rate; Sunday x2 or time-off in lieu plus a payment of
plain time rate. All pay bands: when working on public holidays:
payment at plain time rate plus time off in lieu or payment at double
time;
o Pay Band MPST: Band 1 x 1.5 (Mon - Friday), Saturday x1.5 plus premium
at half-time rate; Sunday x2 or time-off in lieu plus a payment of
plain time rate. All pay bands: when working on public holidays:
payment at plain time rate plus time off in lieu or payment at double
time;
o Changeover Allowance: To enable SOMs and SOs to carry out the
requisite preparation for duty including their collection of radios,
the passage to their post/patrol and return. 15 minutes before shift
and 15 minutes after shift - claimed as overtime when worked.  [NB:
Not applicable to all MPSD/E/T staff].

 4. Please provide the total number of staff employed (FTE and headcount)
by the PSD

This information is held by the House of Commons. At the time of your
request, the staff headcount in PSD was 471, with a FTE of 458.27.

You may, if dissatisfied with the handling of your request, complain to
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and Information Security Service, Research & Information Team, House of
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along with any arguments or points that you wish to make.

If you remain dissatisfied, you may appeal to the Information Commissioner
at Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire SK9 5AF,
[2]www.ico.gov.uk.

Yours sincerely,

Joe Ryan
IRIS Officer 
Information Rights and Information Security (IRIS) | Research and
Information
+44 (0)20 7219 4264 

Text relay: 18001 020 7219 4264
House of Commons, Palace of Westminster, London SW1A 0AA 
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From: Mr A Schofield <[FOI #618650 email]>
Sent: 09 November 2019 23:48
To: FOI Commons <[email address]>
Subject: Freedom of Information request - Parliamentary Security
Department

Dear House of Commons,

Pleas can you provide the following information about the Parliamentary
Security Department (PSD)?

a) Job Description / Person specification for each role within the PSD;
b) Rank/Grade insignia for each grade worn by uniform staff
c) Details of the pay scale for each grade with PSD, including any
enhancement (shift allowance, night rate, overtime rate, first aider pay
etc)
d) Total number of staff employed (FTE and headcount) by the PSD

Yours faithfully,

Andrew Schofield

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Please use this email address for all replies to this request:
[6][FOI #618650 email]

Is [7][House of Commons request email] the wrong address for Freedom of
Information requests to House of Commons? If so, please contact us using
this form:
[8]https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/change_re...

Disclaimer: This message and any reply that you make will be published on
the internet. Our privacy and copyright policies:
[9]https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/help/offi...

For more detailed guidance on safely disclosing information, read the
latest advice from the ICO:
[10]https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/help/ico-...

Please note that in some cases publication of requests and responses will
be delayed.

If you find this service useful as an FOI officer, please ask your web
manager to link to us from your organisation's FOI page.

show quoted sections