§ Mr. Tebbitasked the Secretary of State for the Environment what progress has been made with his Department's experiments in serial contracting; and whether he will make a statement.
§ Mr. AmeryAn experiment has been completed comparing serial with normal tendering on a number of buildings.
No saving in cost was demonstrated and experience with regard to speed of construction was mixed, proving quicker for the standard buildings but slower for those individually designed. The conclusion is that serial tendering is unlikely to be of widespread application but there may be circumstances in which it will prove of advantage, where projects of similar type, size and construction have to be constructed within a limited geographical area and time scale.