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21 Oct 2009 : Column 1453W—continued
Departmental Procurement
Lorely Burt: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what progress his Department has made in implementing the recommendations of the Glover Report in its procurement processes. [287138]
Dan Norris: DEFRA's progress in implementing the 12 recommendations in the Glover Report is:
R1. By 2010, contract opportunities above £20,000 across the whole public sector should be advertised electronically with standard indicative contract value ranges, and accessible through a single, free, easy to search online portal.
This is being implemented as part of the DEFRA's Integated Commercial Strategy and will go live in 2010.
R2. Government should issue all tender documentation electronically by 2010 and this should be kept as brief as possible. Businesses should be permitted to tender electronically for all public sector contracts by 2010; no "paper only" tenders should be required after this date, with an ambition for all tenders to be electronic by 2012.
This too will be implemented as part of our Integrated Commercial Strategy We are planning to be fully compliant well in advance of the 2012 deadline.
R3. Details of contract awardees should be published online in a standard format within 48 days of contract signature, accessible via the single portal by 2010.
DEFRA has dedicated procurement pages on its external website and will include information on contracts awarded. It is DEFRA's intention to provide this information through the cross Government online portal.
R4. Tendering opportunities thought especially suitable for small and medium-sized enterprises or consortia of SMEs should be flagged by the procurer during the advertising process. Government should provide strategic and detailed guidance for procuring authorities on assessing suitable contracts for flagging, based on risk, value and market maturity.
Tendering opportunities for Government contracts are governed by the principles of Managing Public Money and the public procurement directives. DEFRA very much welcomes the participation of SMEs either individually or collectively. It is a key element of our Integrated Commercial Strategy to maximise the diversity of our supplier base including SMEs or consortia thereof and the structuring of all procurements will be done in such a way as to encourage this. We will also be encouraging prime contractors to optimise the use of SMEs in their sub-contracting.
R5. Qualification criteria that are not specific to a sector should be standardised and incorporated in all pre-qualification questionnaires so that businesses do not need to repeatedly submit the same core information in different formats.
DEFRA has included this as a requirement within the Integrated Commercial Strategy. Technical solutions for storing and disseminating supplier data and criteria are being considered as part of this process. It is expected that this will be fully in place by late autumn 2010.
R6. Procurers should give businesses the opportunity to provide details of all previous relevant experience when bidding for contracts, not just public sector experience. This should be taken into account when selecting successful tenderers.
DEFRA has already introduced this within current tender processes.
R7. Procurers should ensure that, where they rely on a particular accreditation scheme or standard as part of the process of prequalification or contract award, that they take a flexible approach. Businesses should be given the opportunity to provide evidence that they can meet the contract requirements by reference to other similar equivalent accreditations or standards they may already hold-especially where these have been recognised or required by other public sector procurers.
DEFRA has already introduced this within current tender processes.
R8. Departments should use their Innovation Procurement Plans to set out how procurement aligns with their overall commercial strategy, encourages innovation and gives advanced notice of long-term procurement plans.
DEFRA is finalising an Innovation Procurement Plan and expect to be able to issue this as part of its Integrated Commercial Strategy. Innovation in procurement is itself one of the key objectives of developing this strategy.
R9. Government should encourage wider use of outcome-based specifications across the public sector, as a means of driving innovation.
DEFRA has already introduced this within current tender processes.
R10. Government should expect and enable prime contractors to make their subcontracting opportunities accessible through the single, online portal created in Recommendation 1.
DEFRA will be encouraging this as part of its Integrated Commercial Strategy.
R11. Through contract management, Government should ensure that SMEs and other firms acting as sub-contractors obtain contract conditions, including promptness of payment terms that are no worse than those applicable to the prime contractor.
DEFRA already includes this requirement within all major contracts and is incorporating it into standard terms and conditions for all contracts.
R12. The Committee recommends that all central Government Departments should report annually on the value of their contract spend with SMEs, creating a reliable single source of quantitative data which can be used to inform future policy decisions and evaluate the recommendations in this report.
DEFRA now has a system in place that allows it to record full records of its suppliers including a classification for SMEs. It is expected that reporting will be available by or before March 2010.
Mr. Prisk: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what percentage of procurement contracts (a) his Department and (b) its agencies awarded to small businesses in (i) 2006-07, (ii) 2007-08, (iii) 2008-09 and (iv) 2009-10; and if he will make a statement. [293239]
Dan Norris: The Department has been asked by the Office of Government Commerce to provide them by the end of financial year 2009-10 with the actual figure and percentage of departmental third party expenditure via small and medium sized enterprises as prime contractors and where they have been engaged through a departmental or pan-governmental framework agreement. This information is being compiled and the analysis will be included in DEFRA's 2010 departmental report.
Departmental Travel
Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much his Department has spent on (a) Ministerial cars and drivers, (b) taxis, (c) train travel, (d) the use of helicopters, (e) airline tickets and (f) chartered aeroplanes in each year since 1997. [289066]
Dan Norris: DEFRA came into being in June 2001. The Government Car and Despatch Agency is responsible for providing ministerial cars and drivers. I refer the hon. Member to the answer provided by my hon. Friend the Under-Secretary of State for Transport (Chris Mole) of 21 July 2009, Official Report, columns 1218-1220W.
From information held centrally, the core-Department's expenditure on taxis for the financial year 2006-07 onwards is:
| Financial year | £ |
From information held centrally, the core-Department's expenditure on air and train travel from July 2006 is:
| £ | ||
| Air | Rail | |
There is no information held centrally on the use of helicopters and chartered aeroplanes.
Dogs
Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many attacks by dogs on people of each age category were reported in each of the last five years. [293657]
Jim Fitzpatrick: Information showing the number of defendants found guilty at all courts for offences under section 3(1) and 3(3) of the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 in England and Wales from 2003 to 2007 (latest available) can be viewed in the following table. The information provides both the number of cases where injuries were inflicted and also the number of cases where no injuries were inflicted.
The Court Proceedings Database held by the Ministry of Justice does not hold specific information on the age of the victims beyond descriptions provided by the statutes under which prosecutions are brought.
Data for 2008 are planned for publication at the end of January 2010.
Domestic Waste: Fixed Penalties
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will make it his policy to issue new statutory guidance to waste collection authorities to curtail the issuing of fixed penalty notices against households for minor breaches of the rules in relation to the disposal of household waste. [294620]
Dan Norris: Local authorities are not obliged by Government or the guidance we issue to impose fixed penalties. While we would expect them to be proportionate in their use of these powers, how they use these powers is entirely a matter for individual local authorities.
Domestic Waste: Waste Disposal
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs which local authorities have introduced wheeled refuse containers for the collection of household waste, according to records held by (a) his Department and (b) the Waste and Resources Action Programme. [294450]
Dan Norris: I have placed the list of local authorities operating residual collections in wheeled bins for 2008-09 in the Library of the House.
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the answer of 14 July 2009, Official Report, column 229W, on the Futuresource Conference, what the cost of the quantitative and qualitative research commissioned by the Waste and Resources Action Programme on Principles of a good collection service was; and which contractors provided the research. [294457]
Dan Norris: The quantitative and qualitative research, carried out by Brook Lyndhurst and ICM on behalf of the Local Government Association and the Waste and Resources Action Programme, cost £38,600. The research was to ensure that the principles of a good recycling service, called for by the fifth report (2006-07) of the Communities and Local Government Select Committee, were firmly based on evidence of the views and priorities of the public.
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what guidance or advice the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) has issued on the operation of (a) closed-lid policies and (b) no side waste policies in respect of the collection of household waste, other than in its guidance on alternative weekly collections. [294467]
Dan Norris: WRAP has published no additional guidance on either subject.
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what pilot programmes involving the weighing of household refuse containers have been supported by (a) his Department and (b) the Waste and Resources Action Programme to date. [294615]
Dan Norris: Neither DEFRA nor the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) has supported pilot programmes involving the weighing of household refuse containers.
However, WRAP is preparing a review of such weighing systems to assess their suitability for use in reward schemes such as 'Recyclebank.'
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what guidance (a) his Department and (b) the Waste and Resources Action Programme has issued on the use of (a) 140 litre and (b) 240 litre household wheeled refuse containers. [294621]
Dan Norris: The Government believe local authorities are best placed to make waste management strategy decisions for their local areas. It has issued no such guidance but does encourage local authorities to consult extensively with residents to ensure their opinions and preferences are taken into consideration.
WRAP has issued no such guidance.
Mr. Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment the Waste and Resources Action Programme has made of household waste collections in overseas countries on (a) three-weekly or (b) four-weekly collection cycles. [294964]
Dan Norris: No such assessment has been made by the Waste and Resources Action Programme.
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