§ Mr. Hancockasked the Secretary of State for Defence to what conditions independent contractors tendering for ancillary services will be subject; and why existing staff of his Department are subject to more rigorous conditions for tendering.
§ Mr. LeeIndependent contractors tendering for ancillary services will be subject to the conditions of contract appropriate to the service required. The principal conditions are contained in the publication GC/STORES/ 1—"Standard Conditions of Government Contracts for Stores Purchases" supplemented by additional conditions applicable to the particular services required. Existing staff of my Department are not subject to more rigorous conditions for tendering.
§ Mr. Hancockasked the Secretary of State for Defence what security arrangements apply to those establishments of his Department with contract labour in ancillary services; and what are the reasons for any differences which apply to security arrangements for his Department's staff.
§ Mr. LeeIt would be inappropriate to disclose details of security arrangements in existence at any Ministry of Defence establishments.
§ Mr. Hancockasked the Secretary of State for Defence what arrangements are made to safeguard the interests of existing employees during the privatisation process of ancillary services at bases of his Department.
§ Mr. LeeThere are a number of ways in which the MOD seeks to safeguard the interests of its employees when contracting out functions to the private sector. In such cases the trade unions are consulted beforehand in accordance with agreed procedures. Our practice is to encourage incoming contractors to recruit MOD staff into their work force. Where possible, staff who are surplus to requirements are offered jobs either elsewhere in the Department or the Civil Service, and staff who are redundant receive redundancy compensation under the normal departmental procedures.
§ Mr. Hancockasked the Secretary of State for Defence what arrangements are made to ensure contractors meet standards in contracts to provide ancillary services at his Department's bases; and what penalty arrangements are made.
§ Mr. LeeLong-standing monitoring arrangements exist to ensure that contractors meet standards in contracts to provide ancillary services at my Department's bases. If performance is not up to standard, payments to contractors may be suspended or the work placed elsewhere, any additional expense being met by the defaulting contractor.
§ Mr. Hancockasked the Secretary of State for Defence whether he will define the term transfer as used in his recent consultation paper for trades unions on the transfer of ancillary services at naval bases to the private sector.
§ Mr. LeeI am afraid I do not recognise the document to which the hon. Member refers. If he will let me have further details, I shall write to him.
§ Mr. Hancockasked the Secretary of State for Defence if he will publish a sample tender contract for ancillary services in bases of his Department.
494W
§ Mr. LeeThe terms and conditions of invitations to tender and of contracts are tailored to meet the provision of the appropriate services covered by those tenders and contracts. It follows that publication of an example, which would not be representative, would be misleading.