HC Deb 12 December 1994 vol 251 cc500-1W
Mr. Milburn

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list those services that have been market-tested by his Department and won by the private sector, indicating the organisation that won the tender and its value.

Mr. Lang

Since 1 April 1992, the activities set out in the table have been contracted out as part of my "Competing for Quality" programme.

Activity Awarded to
Audit of 1st wave NHS Trusts KPMG Peat Marwick; Coopers and Lybrand
Audit of 2nd wave NHS Trusts1 KPMG Peat Marwick; Price Waterhouse; Ernst and Young
Audit of 3rd wave NHS Trusts1 Ernst and Young; Scott Moncrieff; KPMG Peat Marwick; Price Waterhouse

Activity Awarded to
Audit of NHS Boards1 KPMG Peat Marwick; Coopers and Lybrand; Price Waterhouse
Scottish Fire Service Training School Catering Gardner Merchant
Building and Electrical Maintenance Works at HM Prison, Barlinnie AMEC
Marine Laboratory Property Management1 Bell Ingram
Maintenance of new microwave radio systems for the Scottish Ambulance Service and other Health Service Users1 National Transcommunications Ltd.
Scottish Agricultural Science Agency Security1 Burns Security
Scottish Office Pensions Agency pensions administration systems1 McDonnell Information Systems
Data Preparation work1 Saztec; Alpha Numeric
1 Strategically contracted out without an in-house bid.

Bids are made to the Scottish Office on a commercial-in-confidence basis by companies and it is the Scottish Office's normal policy not to reveal the values of contracts let for individual market tests. The estimated aggregate value over the lifetimes of the above contracts is £9.7 million. The length of contract ranges from one to seven years.