§ Mr. SpearingTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list in theOfficial Report the names of consultants appointed by the London Docklands development corporation in the last financial year, together with the nature of the contract, and indicating those cases where the auditors have found no evidence of formal competition.
§ Mr. Trippier[pursuant to his reply, 2 November 1987, column 598.]: The LDDC let contracts to 140 consultants in the 1986–87 financial year, at a total cost of £10.9 million. The external auditors, Messrs Ernst and Whinney, have not found any cases during their audit which fail to meet the guidelines on competition. The consultants appointed during 1986–87 are identified in a list which has been placed in the Library by the type of expertise they provided.
The LDDC also let contracts to 145 consultants in the financial year 1985–86, at a total cost of £7.9 million. The external auditors, Messrs Robson Rhodes, reported 40 cases where the full documentary evidence of the competitive process that had been carried out was not always available to those ratifying appointments. The LDDC has made it clear, however, that such evidence was always kept on file, and was available for inspection if requested. A list of these contracts has been placed in the Library.