§ 16. In section 1(1)—
- (a) after paragraph (j) there shall be inserted the word "and",
- (b) paragraph (1) and the word "and" immediately preceding it shall cease to have effect.
§ 17. In Schedule 2, the words "The Scottish Special Housing Association" shall be omitted.'
§ Lord James Douglas-HamiltonI beg to move, That this House doth agree with the Lords in the said amendment.
§ Mr. SpeakerWith this, it will be convenient to take Lords amendment No. 101.
§ Lord James Douglas-HamiltonThese amendments will ensure that Scottish Homes does not inherit the application to the SSHA of the wider competition requirements to be introduced in the course of 1989 by the Local Government Act 1988. The hon. Member for East Kilbride (Mr. Ingram) raised this point with me when we debated the matter last summer.
The competition requirements are intended primarily for local authorities but apply to some bodies which are very similar to local authorities, as the SSHA is at present. They do not apply to the Scottish Development Agency or the HIDB and they are inappropriate to a wide-ranging body like Scottish Homes. This amendment will simply put Scottish Homes on the same footing as the SDA in this matter.
§ Mr. Home RobertsonThe Minister has just confirmed that there is one law for a Tory quango and another for elected local authorities. The latter are forced to go through the farce of the competitive tendering process under the privatisation provisions of the Local Government Act 1988, but this Tory-inspired and principally Tory-manned quango is being specifically excluded from the duty to put contracts out to competitive tendering. If it is so good for a large authority to be compelled to go in for competitive tendering, why should Scottish Homes not also be required to carry out that process? This exposes the hypocrisy of the competitive tendering scheme in the public sector, and it has done no harm to draw attention to the Government's conduct in this connection.
§ Question put and agreed to.