Last week our correspondent visited the SPVA offices in Centurion, Gosport by invitation. It didn’t start well as the guard service at the main gate insisted that they could not let him in unescorted as they didn’t recognise the SPVA pass. He got a lecture about it being an active military base whilst a chap with a white van was let through after simply signing the visitor’s book. After a considerable wait an escort was found and our correspondent was permitted to enter his employer’s site.He arrived at Centurion building and was greeted by the EDS receptionist who also informed him that he couldn’t let him in as he was instructed not to recognise the official SPVA pass. Thankfully the escort was able to sign him in.
Firstly we must make it clear that the guards at the main gate and the chap at reception in Centurion were all very polite and friendly. The guard at the main gate spent some time on the phone trying to find an escort. Our correspondent reports that the whole experience was perplexing to say the least. VANB fully understands the need for security and controlling access to the site, and this is strictly by security guards and armed service persons.
However to arrive at the SPVA building (Centurion) and be greeted by a man working for a private contracting company who tells our correspondent that he can’t come in seems wrong. To clarify, a private company is telling civil servants working not only within the MoD but within SPVA that they cannot access one of SPVA’s main sites, a site owned by and maintained by the taxpayer. It’s a bit like the owner of a busy bakery turning up for work one morning to be told by the chap servicing the ovens that he/she cannot come in.
Our guess with the centurion situation is that there is additional security not to guard against acts of terrorism but to guard against acts aimed at the data available there through EDS systems. And of course it is right to take special care of data, whatever it may be.
What I would say here is that to my knowledge no civil servants have lost or removed data from SPVA or the wider MoD. In fact I believe that all the high profile loses or removal of data from MoD have been perpetrated by ranking military officers or private contractors and their employees.
VANB are not keen on the ‘One Agency One team’ idea where it involves private sector companies, even ignoring that our correspondents experience at Centurion doesn’t smack of one agency one team.
Below are a few links with news stories relating to data loss. There is some duplication but they do add to the overall picture. There are many more stories and reports of this nature should you wish to look further:
Read more here.
Read more here.
Read more here
Read more here.
Read more here.
