§ Mr. BercowTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the difference was between the price offered in reaching preferred bidder stage and the final contract price for the five largest PFI contracts let by her Department in each of the last four years; and if she will make a statement. [45602]
§ Ms Hewitt[holding answer 25 March 2002]:The Department and its agencies have signed three PFI contracts in the last four years—Elgar (which provides the Department's IT infrastructure), the re-development of the National Physical Laboratory at Teddington and the Radiocommunications Agency's Strategic Partnership.
In the case of the Elgar and RA Strategic Partnership contracts, the procurement process (or competition) did not involve the selection of a 'preferred' bidder.
The net present cost of the National Physical Laboratory PFI contract (excluding support services) was estimated to be £92 million at the time of the selection of the preferred bidder and £116 million at contract signature, primarily reflecting a re-definition of the scope of the project by the Department.