1. What is a SAL?
The "SECRET matter" in an invitation to tender (ITT), or contract containing DEFCON 659 must be defined to the contractor in writing. The special obligations laid upon the contractor become legally effective only when the Ministry of Defence has issued a notice, in writing, defining which aspects of the ITT or contract are to be marked and protected as CONFIDENTIAL, SECRET, or TOP SECRET. This is achieved by means of a Security Aspects Letter (SAL) written by the Requisitioning Branch, or by the inclusion of a Security Aspects Clause in the ITT or contract.
The contractor is required to confirm in writing that he understands and will implement the terms of the SAL or clause. The SAL is the legal instrument under which a UK contractor may be prosecuted under the Official Secrets Act. The SAL must therefore be issued to the contractor with the ITT or contract document. DPA-FMG2C3 must be informed in advance if this is not possible.
2. Do I have a designated Field Adviser?
At the present time, ISS is unable to allocate individual field advisers to specific List X sites, although we will try to maintain continuity whenever possible.
3. What are the Timescales involved for Hand carriages and Transportation Plans?
The required notice periods are:
A. Hand Carriages:
- EU/RoW (exc Australia/US) - 2 working days
- US/Australia - 5 working days
B. For Transportation Plans:
- Within UK - 3 working days notice
- EU (except Italy) - 5 days
- US/Italy/Australia/Rest of World - 10 days
Please note that due to current resource issues; unfortunately we may not be able to approve "emergency requests" with shorter lead times.
4. What are the contact details for the Defence Courier Service?
The Defence Courier Service is based at Inglis Barracks, Mill Hill, London NW7 1PZ.
The contact information is as follows:
Telephone: 020 8818 6432 or please see BFPO link which can be found on the right under "Related pages".
5. How does my Company become List X?
"List X" is a term that has been in existence for seventy years. In fact it is simply the British term for what the rest of the world knows as "FSC - Facility Security Clearance".
The term refers to contractors or subcontractors which have been formally placed on List X because they are undertaking work marked CONFIDENTIAL or above "on the Company Premises". List X is not available on request; it has to be "sponsored" by a Contracting Authority (CA).
The CA can be:-
- An MOD department, probably, but not necessarily, an Integrated Project Team (IPT)
- An existing List X company acting as Prime Contractor to one or more subcontractors (all subcontractors must be approved by the original CA)
- Overseas governments and defence contractors
- NATO (please note that NATO does not accept bids from uncleared companies for classified contracts, so MOD Industrial Security will initiate List X for UK companies subject to evidence of the intention to bid for a specified NATO contract.)
- A number of other UK Government Departments, such as the Home Office and Foreign & Commonwealth Office, including GCHQ, also have their own List X sites, but MOD contracts account for around 85% of List X
There are a number of key requirements for List X status:-
- A contract at CONFIDENTIAL or above
- A requirement either for the work to be done on the contractor’s premises or for protectively marked information to be held on site
6. Who is my contact for IT Accreditation?
For new sites or existing List X sites with no accredited systems, please contact the ISS Advice Centre on 0117 9134378.
For sites with existing accredited systems, please contact DSSO (Defence Security Standards Organisation) direct (John Stevens - the Industry Accreditation Team Leader) on 01480 52151 Ext 6048 or via the email link on the right under "Contact Us"