§ Mr. David NicholsonTo ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster which firms of chartered accountants his Department invited to provide enterprise consultants prior to the publication of his White Paper on the role of the Department of Trade and Industry; when; and by what means.
§ Mr. Atkins[holding answer 8 February 1988]: On 12 November 1987, seven firms with national coverage were invited to tender competitively for the provision of enterprise counsellor services. As a result of that competition two firms, Coopers and Lybrand and Ernst and Whinney, were awarded contracts. It would be a breach of commercial confidentiality to reveal the names of those firms which tendered unsuccessfully.