§ Mr. HinchliffeTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science (1) what quality safeguards are required for competitive tendering within polytechnics;
(2) what guidelines are available to polytechnics concerning the procedure for competitive tendering.
§ Mr. Alan HowarthThe provisions of part 1 of the Local Government Act (1988), which concern competitive tendering, do not apply to polytechnics, which are independent institutions. Individual polytechnics are, therefore, responsible for determining quality criteria appropriate to each contract. In order to secure the best value for money, the Polytechnics and Colleges Funding Council (PCFC) requires institutions to let contracts for publicly-funded capital projects through competitive tendering procedures.
The costs of any redundancies which may result from competitive tendering fall to be met by the appropriate polytechnic. In certain circumstances, the costs may be eligible for reimbursement by the PCFC under its restructuring scheme.