§ Mr. MorganTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his answer of 25 April,Official Report, column 498, if he will list those activities in his Department which have been market-tested; and if he will specify in each case if in-house bids were permitted. [22338]
§ Mr. FreemanIn the three-year period since April 1992, a total of 101 defence support activities have been exposed to the "Competing for Quality" process as part of the drive to deliver, through the increased use of competition and private sector involvement, high-quality and more cost-effective support to the armed forces. Of these, 23 have been exposed to competition from external contractors, with an in-house bid in each case, ie market-tested, to ensure that the service is delivered in a204W way which gives best value for money. The market tests involved, and the results of each, are as follows:
Gardening at RM units Poole, CTCRM Lympstone and COMMACHIO group—all three won by in-house bid team.Mechanical handling equipment, repair and maintenance, Devonport—won by in-house team.18 base workshop, army base repair organisation, Bovington—won by in-house team.RAOC print section, Northern Ireland—won by in-house team.Air weapon range, RAF Cowden—won by in-house team.Support services, Gateway house, RAF Brize Norton—won by in-house team.Aircraft support services, Boscombe Down—won by in-house team.Elements of experimental flying programme, Bedford/Boscombe Down—won by in-house team.Second line engineering support, flag officer naval aviation, Yeovilton—activity contractorised following a market test with in-house bid.Industrial mess (catering and stewardship function), defence postal and courier service, Mill Hill, London—activity contractorised following a market test with in-house bid.Ration delivery service, Northern Ireland—activity contractorised following a market test with in-house bid.Tailoring, Northern Ireland—activity contractorised following a market test with in-house bid.Air weapon range, RAF Holbeach—activity contractorised following a market test with in-house bid.Flight checking, 115 Squadron, RAF Benson—activity contractorised following a market test with in-house bid.Inspectorate of recruitment exhibition production flight, RAF Henlow—activity contractorised following a market test with in-house bid.Nimrod major servicing unit, RAF Kinloss—activity contractorised following a market test with in-house bid.Airfield services, RAF Gibraltar—activity contractorised following a market test with in-house bid.IT processing DIGITS operations west, Devizes—activity contractorised following a market test with in-house bid.Property Management, Central London—activity contractorised following a market test with in-house bid.Mess catering, Boscombe Down—activity contractorised following a market test with in-house bid.Trident in-service support—activity contractorised following a market test with in-house bid.