§ Mrs. Jane KennedyTo ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage, pursuant to his answer of 5 November,Official Report, column 350, which firms were invited to tender for the contract to provide advice on the impact of a national lottery on the football pools industry and charitable donations; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. BrookeInformation on those firms that were not successful in the tendering process for work on the national lottery is commercially sensitive and therefore their names cannot be given.
§ Mrs. Jane KennedyTo ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage, pursuant to his answer of 5 November,Official Report, column 350, what criteria he used in determining which firm of consultants should undertake the contract to advise him on the impact of a national lottery on the football pools industry and charitable donations; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. BrookeThe criteria used to determine the choice of consultants included price, quality and access to expert knowledge. In addition, consultants had to assure the Department that they were not currently working for and would not in future work for any companies that had an interest in bidding to operate the national lottery and that the advice they gave would be impartial and free from conflicts of interest of any kind.