§ Mr. Michael Lathamasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) whether he has yet held any hearings of contractors alleged to have breached the pay limits along the lines set out in paragraph 15 of DOE Circular 123/75;
(2) whether any contractors undertaking work for Government Departments have refused to agree to vary existing contracts in accordance with the procedure outlined in paragraph 11 of DOE Circular 123/75; and, if so, how many;
664W(3) whether any contractors have been reported to the Price Commission by the Department of the Environment or other public sector clients under the terms of paragraph 13 of DOE Circular 123/75; and if so, how many.
§ Mr. Joel BarnettWhenever a contractor has been judged to have breached the pay limit this has followed discussions with the Department of Employment where every opportunity is given for his views to be heard. He is also free to make representations to the Department awarding the relevant contract. In a small proportion of cases contractors have not agreed to vary the terms of existing contracts, but information about the number could not be provided without a disproportionate expenditure of time and resources. In one or two instances contractors have agreed to modify their pay settlements after discussion with Department of Employment, who have not found it necessary to report any public contractor to the Price Commission.