§ Mr. BlunkettTo ask the Secretary of State for Employment what estimate he has of the cost of market testing the careers service; and if he will detail(a) the transaction costs and (b) the tendering costs.
§ Mr. PaiceThe process by which my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State is meeting his duty to provide the careers service is competitive tendering, not market testing.
I have no information on the costs of compiling bids; they were met by the bidders. The costs to the Employment Department were about £300,000, which were found from existing resources. They included £220,000 on staff and associated costs for a small team of administrators—1994–95—and £74,000 on a prospectus and publicity for tendering in 1994–95. In addition, some staff from the 10 Government offices were involved. Further figures could not be provided without incurring disproportionate cost.
§ Mr. BlunkettTo ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will list which of the careers services that have gone out for tender have(a) remained in-house, (b) been won by the private sector and (c) are still outstanding.
§ Mr. PaiceThis information is not yet available. No contracts have been awarded. Preferred bidders have been selected for post-tender negotiation and the contracts will be announced after negotiations are complete.