§ 75. Mr. ROBERT YOUNGasked the Under-Secretary of State for India whether considerable savings have resulted from the investigation of the Technical Costs Branch into contracts during 1921–22; what was the number of contracts and the proportion of the same referred to the Branch; and can he state the total amount of the quotations thus referred; the amount ultimately agreed upon between the contractors and the India Office; and the amount saved?
§ Earl WINTERTONAs the reply is somewhat lengthy, I propose, if the hon. Member has no objection, to circulate it in the OFFICIAL REPORT.
§ Following is the answer:
§ The High Commissioner for India who, as the hon. Member is aware, acts directly under the orders of the Government of India in the placing of contracts informs me that, during the year 1921–22, 4,937 contracts were made by the India Store Department, which is a branch of his Office. Ordinarily no reference is made in respect of competitive tenders to the Technical Costs Branch, which is a branch of the Admiralty whose services are, by arrangement, available for reference in special cases. The cases which have usually been referred are those in 1800 which, for particular reasons, the contracts included special provision for determining the amounts to be paid with reference to actual expenditure, and also certain cases in which competition could not be secured in the ordinary way and in which the tenders therefore required special scrutiny. The total number of references made by the India Store Department to the Technical Costs Branch in the year 1921–22 was 54, a little above 1 per cent, of the total number of contracts placed during that period. The total amount of the claims involved in the 54 cases was £308,405, and the amount finally agreed upon was £254,233, the amount saved being thus £54,172.