§ 82. Mr. Lawsonasked the Secretary of State for Scotland which English firms and which Scottish firms were invited to tender for contracts for new ambulance service vehicles placed on behalf of St. Andrew's and Red Cross Scottish Ambulance Service in 1958.
§ Mr. MaclayThe Joint Central Committee for the Scottish Ambulance Service advised me that it was urgently necessary to provide additional vehicles to avoid a breakdown of the Service during the winter. Because of the extreme urgency of this year's order, therefore, the delay involved in the normal competitive tender procedure would have been serious and the contracts were placed with two English firms which alone were in quantity production of the vehicles required. It will be possible for the normal procedure to be followed in future, and suitable Scottish firms along with others will shortly be invited to tender for the next year's order.