§ Mr. ThorntonTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will estimate the percentage of local authority contracts for day-to-day building maintenance which(a) are currently let to private contractors and (b) were let to private contractors in 1985.
§ Mr. Heathcoat-AmoryFor the 342 local authorities required to report to the Secretary of State for the financial year 1985–86, the reported value of building maintenance work let to private contractors amounted to 45 per cent. of the total expenditure on building maintenance work by those authorities.
Information for 1989–90 is not available at present. The relevant annual reports are due to be submitted by 31 October of this year. Since the implementation of the relevant provisions of the Local Government, Planning and Land Act 1980 however, the proportion of work undertaken by private contractors has increased on average by about 1 per cent. per year. Recent changes in the legislation mean that more authorities with small direct labour organisations will come within scope of the Act, which may have the effect of increasing the proportion of work reported as allocated to private contractors.