§ Mr. Dewarasked the Secretary of State for Scotland how many (a) laundry, (b) catering and (c) cleaning contracts in National Health Service hospitals in Scotland have been privatised in the last year; and how many National Health Service employees in each category have been made redundant following privatisation.
§ Mr. YoungerIn the past year, besides re-letting a number of contracts for support services, health boards and the Common Services Agency have let three more contracts and are now preparing to seek tenders for other support services. I have asked them to report on these contracts as they are let. No redundancies have been involved to date.