Security services at Edinburgh Council’s headquarters and chambers are set to be brought in-house, according to a report set to be seen by councillors.
It comes after a man died in part of the City Chambers three months ago and went undiscovered for days, though the review of how security services in the buildings should be run was ordered last year.
That review came off the back of a vote by councillors in November, which asked that council officers explore options to bring more of the service in-house.
Currently, according to a report for councillors ahead of Thursday’s Finance and Resources Committee meeting, 15% of the council’s security service is provided by the council.
Officers said that moving to a fully council-run model was currently ‘cost-prohibitive’, and would see a £1m per year increase on current costs.
But, they say in-house security at the council’s Waverley Court headquarters, the City Chambers, and the customer hub at 249 High Street would allow the council to measure the benefits associated with bringing the service in-house.
Sean Stephen, of Edinburgh’s Southside, passed away in a toilet in the customer hub in late July and was not discovered for six days.
It is understood that security staff on-site failed to check if the toilet was occupied when performing their nightly rounds at the end of each day.
The private part of the council’s security service across its estate is provided by Vigilant Protect UK Limited.
It began a three-year contract in February of this year, with two possible year-long extensions, at a total contract value of £13.9m.
Officers say that the current security staff, both public and private, provide static guarding of buildings, patrols and mobile incident support.
Additionally, they say it handles a 24/7/365 contact centre and control room, and monitors over 2,100 CCTV cameras in the city.
The report says that the fact that some guarding of council premises is already provided by in-house staff would make the transition easier.
It adds that insourcing the services will provide ‘essential high-profile support’ required across the council’s property estate.
For the three sites listed, officers say in-housing security services will cost £130,000 per year.
Councillors are set to note the report at the next meeting of the Finance and Resources Committee on Thursday, September 18.
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