§ Mr. Montgomeryasked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether he will seek powers to require health authorities to seek tenders from the private sector for hospital ancillary services.
§ Mr. Geoffrey FinsbergNo. Powers already exist, but arrangements for the use of contractors are for individual health authorities to make according to their local needs and circumstances. However, we hope to issue advice shortly that will urge health authorities to seek competitive172W tenders for provision of catering, cleaning and laundry services, and will include information on good practices, model contracts and cost comparisons with directly provided services.