§ Mr. William Hamiltonasked the Secretary of State for Scotland whether the contracts for the building of the new teaching hospital at Ninewells, Dundee, were put out to open competitive tender; and what considerations governed the decision on this matter.
§ Mr. Gordon CampbellTenders for the new hospital and medical school at Ninewells were invited by the Eastern Regional Hospital Board in 1963 on a selective basis. This is normal practice for public sector building schemes, but in the case of the Ninewells hospital there was the additional consideration that a form of contract procedure was decided upon, with the concurrence of the Treasury and my Department, to enable the contractor to be nominated at an early stage to participate in design and planning. After preliminary interviews of 13 firms, five were invited to tender, and of the four tenders submitted the lowest, by Messrs. Crudens Ltd., was accepted.
§ Mr. William Hamiltonasked the Secretary of State for Scotland what was the value of the total contracts awarded in the building of the Ninewells hospital; how much has been paid to date: and by 121W how much this exceeds the original estimate.
§ Mr. Gordon CampbellThe lowest tender for the main contract for the construction of the new hospital and medical school at Ninewells was submitted by Messrs. Crudens Ltd. and its value, as accepted by the Eastern Regional Hospital Board in November, 1963, was £10.2 million. Payments to the contractor up to the end of June, 1972, totalled £12.7 million, taking into account subsequent additions to the scheme and the operation of the fluctuations clause normal in building contracts for periods of more than two years. The 1961 estimate of the building cost of the scheme was £9 million, compared with the current estimate of total construction costs of £14.5 million (or £18.2 million including fees and moveable equipment).