§ Mr. Ancramasked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will legislate to prevent local authorities from seeking information from potential contractors on contributions they may have made to political parties; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. YoungerI know of only one local authority—Lothian regional council—which has sought such information, and I hope that it will not be necessary to legislate solely on its account.
The selection of contractors for inclusion on an approved list for tender purposes should be made solely on the basis of an appraisal of their likely ability to carry out the required work within the tender price, up to specification, within the law and on time. The information 460W requested by Lothian regional council seems to me to be entirely irrelevant to the assessment of such questions of technical capacity.
I understand that many companies have refused to provide it and I believe that this response is justified. I hope that when the regional council considers the matter again it will agree to drop its ill-advised request.