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Written Answers to Questions

Wednesday 3 April 1996

DUCHY OF LANCASTER

HMSO

Mr. Patrick Thompson: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what further information he plans to make available to Parliament at this stage of the privatisation of HMSO. [25219]

Mr. Freeman: An advertisement for the sale of HMSO appeared in the press on Tuesday 26 March. Potential bidders who satisfy the pre-qualification process will receive the information memorandum describing the business for sale shortly after Easter. The information memorandum has been written primarily to meet the requirements of these bidders. It contains commercially sensitive material and therefore, in order to protect the interests of the Crown, access to the information memorandum will be carefully controlled, with bidders signing a comprehensive confidentiality agreement.

However, in recognition of the unique role which HMSO plays by providing services which are essential to the smooth working of Parliament, I have already agreed that a copy of the information memorandum will be provided, on a confidential basis, to the Clerk of the Finance and Services Committee.

On further consideration of Parliament's particular interest in this privatisation, I have decided to arrange for an edited version of the information memorandum to be placed shortly in the Library of the House. This edited version will contain information relevant to the House's interest in the sale but will exclude commercially sensitive information.

LORD PRESIDENT OF THE COUNCIL

Waste Minimisation

Ms Ruddock: To ask the Lord President of the Council if he will make a statement on progress in establishing an office waste minimisation strategy for his Department, indicating the targets set. [24513]

Mr. Newton: My Department fully supports the Government's strategy set out in the White Paper, "Making Waste Work, a waste strategy for England and Wales". The adoption of a separate Privy Council Office waste minimisation strategy and target may not be appropriate, given the Department's small size and the fact that it is located within the Cabinet Office. Consideration will be given to this, however, in the coming months.

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NATIONAL HERITAGE

Television Receivers

Mr. French: To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage if she will commission a report on the technical and practical considerations of requiring all new television receivers to be fitted with a V-chip; and if she will make a statement. [22139]

Mr. Sproat: The Government are studying the technical and practical implications of the V-chip, and other similar devices. On 26 March the Department hosted a seminar organised by the Advertising Association at which Dr. Pober, executive director of the US Entertainment Software Rating Board, and Professor Goldstein, an expert in studies on violence and the media from Utrecht university, shared their knowledge of the experience to date in the USA.

Contracts

Mr. Donohoe: To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what guidelines are currently in force in her Department and its executive agencies relating to competitive tendering and the use of single negotiated tenders; on what grounds single negotiated tenders can be used; and what procedures are in place within her Department to ensure that the use of single negotiated tenders in competitive tendering processes is justified in all cases. [22848]

Mr. Sproat: My Department and its executive agencies abide by the Government's public purchasing policy, published in the document "Public Purchasing Policy: Consolidated Guidelines". The policy states that goods and services are to be acquired by competition unless there are convincing reasons to the contrary. In addition, EC procurement directives and the World Trade Organisation government procurement agreement require most contracts above specified thresholds to be awarded following competition, subject to certain specified exceptions. The central unit on procurement's guidance note No. 40 provides an overview of best practice in the competitive tendering process.

To ensure that value for money is obtained, goods and services are subject to competitive tender wherever practicable. In exceptional circumstances, single tender action may be permissible where (i) there is no alternative source of supply, (ii) specialist knowledge or expertise exists with a particular supplier, (iii) there is an overriding urgency arising from circumstances outside the Department's control. Any case for single tender action must be approved at director or chief executive level in the agencies and head of division level in my Department.

My Department has a single tender delegation from HM Treasury of £25,000. Beyond this, my Department has no authority and must seek approval from HM Treasury.

Mr. Donohoe: To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage how many contracts for goods or services have been awarded by her Department and its executive agencies on the basis of single negotiated contracts in each of the last three years; if she will list the companies involved and the value of the contract in each case; what percentage this represented of contracts awarded by her Department and its agencies after

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competitive tendering; and, in each case, why the contracts were awarded on the basis of a single negotiated tender. [22862]

Mr. Sproat: The total number and value of single tender contracts, with a value exceeding £500, awarded by my Department and its agencies in each of the last three years is shown in the table. In order to preserve commercial confidentiality, the information cannot be identified by value and individual contractor. In the majority of cases the reason for single tender has been due to (i) the specialist knowledge and expertise of the selected contractor, and (ii) overriding urgency arising from circumstances outside my Department's or its agencies' control. As can be seen from the table, the value of contracts let by single tender represents a small percentage of the total value of contracts let by my Department and its agencies.

	1993-94	1994-95	1995-96
Total number of contracts let by single tender	13	26	36
Total value of contracts let by single tender	£178,806	£401,200	£489,140
Single tender contracts expressed as a percentage of competitive contracts (by number)	8	8	9
Single tender contracts expressed as a percentage of competitive contracts (by value)	1.3	1.6	1.6

Sports Council (Information Technology Training)

Ms Walley: To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage when Sports Council staff will be fully trained in IT skills to handle administration of all programmes; and if she will make a statement about the training needs. [23086]

Mr. Sproat: These are matters for the members and senior management of the Sports Council, who have day-to-day responsibility for ensuring that the council operates as effectively and efficiently as possible with the resources at its disposal.

Waste Minimisation

Ms Ruddock: To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage if she will make a statement on progress in establishing an office waste minimisation strategy for her Department, indicating the targets set. [24503]

Mr. Sproat: Waste minimisation is a key aspect of my Department's existing green housekeeping strategy. We are planning to set targets for waste minimisation by the end of 1996.

Computers

Mr. David Atkinson: To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage if she will make a statement on the problem of non-recognition by computers of the year 2000 with regard to her Department's computers and those for which it is responsible. [24404]

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Mr. Sproat: The Department of National Heritage is currently reviewing the necessity for any changes to computer systems to support the year 2000.

Children's Play

Mr. Robert G. Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage when the new arrangements for children's play will commence. [25217]

Mrs. Virginia Bottomley: On 21 November 1995, Official Report, column 67, I announced that, subject to the successful completion of post-tender negotiations, the National Playing Fields Association would carry out work for my Department in the areas of playwork education and training, information dissemination and play safety. I am pleased to report that my Department has successfully completed post-tender negotiations with the association and that it will be carrying out work for my Department in these three areas from 1 May.

Public Libraries

Mr. Robert G. Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage if she will make a statement on contracting out in public libraries. [25218]

Mrs. Virginia Bottomley: Following consultation with a wide range of interested parties on the report commissioned by my Department from KPMG on contracting out in the public library service, which was published following my previous written answer on 19 July 1995, Official Report, columns 1457-58, my right hon. Friends the Secretaries of State for Scotland and for Wales and I have decided for the present not to introduce competitive tendering in the public library service on a compulsory basis. However, we believe that the public library service should be encouraged to continue to improve its management and effectiveness by involving the private sector more. We intend to explore, over the coming months, how this can best be done and to set out our proposals in detail later in the year.

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