§ Mr. DevlinTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science is he will make a statement about the purchasing policy of his Department.
§ Mr. FallonThe Department is bound by the Government's policy that purchasers should base all procurement of goods and services on value for money, including quality (or fitness for purpose) and delivery against price. In accordance with that policy, goods and services are purchased by competition unless there are convincing reasons to the contrary. Under EC rules, and the GATT Government procurement agreement (GPA) where appropriate, the Department is obliged to award relevant contracts in accordance with prescribed procedures aimed at avoiding discriminiation on grounds of nationality.
§ Mr. DevlinTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science (1) what were his Department's(a) best and (b) worst purchases made in the current month as measured against the Government's supply index;
(2) what were the 10 worst purchases made by his Department in the month of October as measured against the Government's supply index.
§ Mr. FallonThis Department does not subscribe to the Government supply index because the items currently covered by the index do not form a significant part of our expenditure and it has not therefore been economically viable to join the system. It follows that we are not privy to the information which would enable comparisons to be made.