§ Mr. McQuarrie asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what is his response to the memorandum submitted to him by the National Federation of Building Trade Employers on attempts by certain local authorities to amend their standing orders and standard contract provisions so as to reduce competition from private sector 151W contractors and retain all work in the authorities' own direct labour organisations; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. James Pawsey asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will take steps to ensure that local authorities do not evade the competition regulations surrounding direct labour organisations by implementing legislation preventing them from artificially sub-dividing new building and maintenance work into packages below the threshold limits for which competition must be sought from private contractors or by modifying or amending their standing orders or conditions of contract to exclude private contractors from fair competition with a direct labour organisation by introducing restrictive tendering or contract conditions which either force contractors out of competition or make compliance with the conditions unreasonably difficult.
§ Sir George Young: The review of the legislation affecting direct labour organisations promised by my predecessor in his reply to the hon. member for Nuneaton (Mr. Huckfield) on 22 June—[Vol. 7, c. 56.]—is now under way. The NFBTE memorandum is being carefully considered along with all the other evidence submitted by a wide range of interested organisations who were invited to comment. Any statement must await the outcome of this review.