Property Services Agency (Hansard, 15 January 1993)

§ Mr. McFall
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the total estimated cost of closing PSA Building Management Scotland based on December 1992 staff-in-post figures.

§ Mr. Redwood
This figure is not readily available and would, in any event, be commercially confidential.

§ Mr. McFall
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many of the PSA Projects board members were aware of the bids of the different potential purchasers for PSA Projects.

§ Mr. Redwood
All board members met the shortlisted bidders and, in preparation for that, were given copies of the bids with the financial details edited out.

§ Mr. McFall
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether Her Majesty's Government are willing to sell all five PSA Building Management business divisions to one purchaser.

§ Mr. Redwood
The Government are anxious to promote competition in the provision of maintenance services and would therefore be most reluctant to sell all the businesses to one purchaser.

§ Mr. McFall
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what assessment has been made of value for money in the sale of PSA Projects to Tarmac Construction.

§ Mr. Redwood
Tarmac's bid for PSA Projects was assessed both against the value of competing bids and against the cost of closing projects.

§ Mr. McFall
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether the Government expect to receive a net income from potential purchasers of all the PSA Building Management business divisions.

§ Mr. Redwood
Each of the businesses will have a sizeable contractually committed workload at the point of sale. We expect this to be reflected in the financial arrangements for disposal.

§ Mr. McFall
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what plans he has for the future of those PSA Building Management business divisions which remain unsold by 1994.

§ Mr. Redwood
I have no specific plans as our intention is to sell the Building Management businesses this year.

§ Mr. McFall
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) when the memorandum for the sale of the five PSA Building Management business divisions will be issued to potential bidders;
(2) what is the timetable for the sale of the PSA Building Management business divisions.

§ Mr. Redwood
Final decisions have not yet been taken on the timetable for the sale of PSA Building Management business divisions or for the issue of the sale memorandum.

§ Mr. McFall
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) how many times between December 1991 859W and 30 September 1992, on what dates, for what purpose and on what basis civil servants and others serving as PSA Projects board members formally and informally met representatives of companies bidding for PSA projects;
(2) how many times, on what dates, and for what purpose, and on what basis civil servants and others serving as PSA Projects board members formally and informally met representatives of the Tarmac Group between 1 December 1991 and 30 September 1992.

§ Mr. Redwood
Many meetings would have taken place both formally and informally between individual members of Tarmac and other companies bidding for PSA Projects, as with other major construction industry companies, in the normal course of business.
In addition during the due vigilance phase of the sales process both the board and individual board members met the shortlisted bidders. Following Tarmac's selection as preferred bidder at the end of September and before exchange of contracts on October 1 there was a meeting between the board and Tarmac Construction to discuss Tarmac's plans for the business and their communication to PSA Projects staff and a number of discussions between individual board members and Tarmac representatives on particular aspects of the prospective sale.

§ Mr. McFall
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) how many outstanding claims against PSA Services have been lodged by companies within the Tarmac Group; what is their total value; and what is the total value of such claims relating to work at the Faslane and Coulport submarine bases;
(2) how many outstanding claims against companies within the Tarmac Group have been made by PSA Services;
(3) what arrangements he has made to settle outstanding claims lodged by Tarmac companies against PSA Services following the sale of PSA Projects to Tarmac Construction Ltd.

§ Mr. Redwood
There are no outstanding claims against the Tarmac Group of companies by PSA Projects or vice versa. Since 1 April 1992 the contracting authority for Government works contracts has been the individual client department. Any service provided by PSA Projects has been solely as agent.

§ Mr. Wicks
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what arrangements exist to ensure that surplus staff from PSA Projects will be matched with vacancies in Departments and that Departments do not recruit externally while there are surplus staff in the same grade in PSA Projects.

§ Mr. Redwood
PSA maintains constant contact with other Government Departments through its personnel change unit which was specifically set up for the purppse of identifying alternative posts for all surplus staff in PSA. These Departments are sympathetic to the PSA's situation and generally respond positively to our approaches. Most Departments consider surplus PSA staff before embarking upon any external recruitment, but if they decide to advertise outside the service PSA staff are normally invited to apply.

§ Mr. Wicks
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list the dates, times and places, during the three-month period up to the sale of PSA860W Projects, of the internal meetings other than those with trade unions, at which PSA management discussed how the Agency's equal opportunities policies would be applied to the PSA Projects sale; and if he will make a statement on each step taken arising from those meetings, with regard to application of those policies.

§ Mr. Redwood
PSA Projects personnel staff, and representatives from the group personnel directorate, which has overall responsibility within PSA Services for all equal opportunities matters, regularly held meetings throughout the three-month period up to the sale of Projects, to discuss how the Department's equal opportunities policies should be applied in the sale of PSA Projects. The main meetings took place on 30 July 1992 in Marsham street and 21 September and 23 October 1992 in Croydon. Steps taken as a result of these meetings were:

(a) to produce a paper for the trade unions setting out the proposed secondee selection criteria and arrangements for the avoidance of sexual and racial discrimination.

(b) to undertake a further survey of the ethnic origin of those staff in PSA Projects who have hitherto declined to provide this information in order to improve the quality of information held on the ethnic origin database.

(c) to establish central monitoring by the equal opportunities unit of the secondee selection process.

§ Mr. Wicks
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what action was taken to ensure that there was no direct or indirect discrimination in the selection of PSA Projects staff for secondment; and if he will list the measures taken to prevent discrimination on the grounds of race, gender or disability.

§ Mr. Redwood
The trade unions were consulted about the proposed criteria for the selection of secondees in October 1992.
The procedures to be adopted in the selection of staff for secondment were set out in a letter from the then managing director of PSA Projects to all his senior managers. This letter drew specific attention to the requirement of the equal opportunities legislation and the importance of avoiding any direct or indirect discrimination on the grounds of race, gender or disability. A copy of this letter was given to the trade unions in December 1992.
Throughout the selection process the results were monitored centrally to ensure that no direct or indirect discrimination had taken place.
Other measures undertaken during 1992 included the issue of guidance to all staff about the avoidance of racial or sexual harassment in the workplace. A new complaints and grievances procedure was also agreed with the trade unions and issued to staff throughout PSA Services in the form of a staff circular in advance of the PSA Projects sale.

§ Mr. Wicks
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what written guidance was given to PSA Projects staff, setting out the appeals procedure to follow if they were turned down for secondment and they believed this was done on the grounds of gender, race or disability.

§ Mr. Redwood
The appeals procedure for staff to follow in the event of any complaint or grievance including any on sexual or racial discrimination grounds was set out in a departmental notice which was agreed with the trade unions and issued to all PSA staff in April 1992.
In the light of this no separate guidance for PSA Projects staff was thought to be necessary.