§ Mr. Dobsonasked the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) on what grounds has it been decided that tenders should be sought whenever capital investment of £250,000 or more for laundry services is being examined;
(2) what new factors have led his Department to change its guidance in relation to the level of capital investment for laundry services above which tenders should be sought.
§ Mr. WhitneyUnder our previous guidance a health authority could spend up to £500,000 on its laundry without going out to tender for this service. We have concluded that this limit is too high to ensure that health authorities are getting the best value for money in their laundry services. So they have now been asked to go to tender to test that the most cost effective solution is adopted before any capital expenditure of over £250,000 on laundry schemes.