§ 43. Mr. McLoughlinTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what further progress local authorities in Scotland are making with regard to contracting out of local government services.
§ Lord James Douglas-HamiltonLocal authorities remain fully engaged in implementing the competition provisions of the Local Government Act 1988. The first round of work won in competition has to be under way by 1 August this year with further rounds by 1 January and 1 August in subsequent years.
From the information available it would appear that so far local authorities have themselves been winning contracts in most cases. Where any anti-competitive practice has been alleged my officials are following up the cases with the local authorities concerned.