§ Mr. Ian TaylorTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what advice and assistance was offered by his Department to British firms tendering for the construction of the new British embassy in Tokyo.
§ Mr. MaudeNo new British embassy is proposed for Tokyo. The tender list for the construction of eight houses and a small apartment block in the British embassy compound has not yet been drawn up. My noble Friend the Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office has suggested to the Export Group for the Constructional Industries that British firms that are keen to establish a constructional foothold in Japan should forward tender pre-qualification details to the FCO for consideration. At least half the tender list will be reserved for United Kingdom contractors and the tender documents will state that particular attention would be paid to the tenders submitted by British or British/Japanese joint venture companies.
§ Mr. Ian TaylorTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is his Department's policy towards assisting British firms tendering for contracts to build British embassies in protected foreign markets.
§ Mr. MaudeOur policy is to achieve the best value for money for the overseas diplomatic estate's capital construction programme. Tender lists are therefore open both to British and to local firms that express interest in a given project and can meet pre-qualification requirements.