§ Mr. Ashleyasked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will request district health authorities, in their monitoring of private contractors providing services, to ensure that contractors fulfill their statutory requirements, including those relating to wage levels agreed by wages councils.
§ Mr. Kenneth ClarkeContractors will be well aware of the statutory requirements under which they must operate.
§ Mrs. Renée Shortasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what steps his Department takes to monitor the performance of private contractors who have been awarded contracts for hospital cleaning and laundry services.
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§ Mr. Kenneth ClarkeThe monitoring of the performance of contractors is the responsibility of the health authorities concerned. It is obviously important for authorities to monitor the performance of in-house or contractor-provided services of this kind. If services do not reach the required standard, the authority should take management action to raise standards in the case of in-house services or require the contractor to comply with the specifications of his contract in the case of an outside contractor.