§ Mr. Tony BanksTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) how many responses his Department received to the consultation document Competition in the Provision of Local Authority Services issued in 1985; of these responses, how many were from local authorities, including the Inner London education authority and local authority associations; and of the responses from those authorities how many supported the introduction of compulsory competitive tendering into the provision of local authority services;
(2) how many of those responses received by the Government to the consultation document "Competition in the Provision of Local Authority Services," issued in 1985, were from employers' associations or any other organisations representing actual or potential contractors for local authority services; and of the responses from those organisations, how many were in favour of the introduction of compulsory competitive tendering into the provision of local authority services and how many were in favour of introducing competition over a period of a few years.
§ Mr. ChopeOver 450 responses to the consultation paper were received and a list of respondents was placed in the Library on 30 October 1985. Some 240 were from local authorities or local authority associations, and some 60 from private contractors or associations representative of their interests. It is not easy to summarise the views put forward on this complex subject, but the hon. Gentleman is free to ask consultees what they said.