§ 33. Mr. SquireTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what assessment his Department has made of the benefits to be gained by local authorities from competitive tendering in 1989–90.
§ Mr. GummerThe Department will shortly be letting a research contract to monitor and evaluate the effects of the competition provisions of the Local Government Act 1988. The statutory deadline for the first round of services to be exposed to competition is 1 August 1989. Previous studies have therefore necessarily examined the effects of voluntary competition; these have found savings of 20 to 30 per cent. of previous costs without any reduction in standards.