§ Mr. Marplesasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether contract awards are published; what criteria must be met; and in what form publicity given.
§ Mr. TaverneContract awards are normally published only in the case of building and civil engineering contracts worth more than £10,000 (£25,000 in the case of road contracts). Unless special circumstances such as national security or inadequate competition apply, the Departments concerned publish the value of the winning tender in the specialist press and make available to bidders two lists—of the names of tenderers and of the values180W of the tenders submitted. To preserve confidentiality, the lists are withheld if they might enable bids to be identified with tenderers.