§ Mr. GouldTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what consultations were made before the decision to contract out the royal parks was taken.
§ Mr. HeseltineIt is the Government's policy to buy in services after competitive tender and I see no need for consultation on each occasion that we do so. We are consulting very widely on the future role and use of the royal parks.
§ Mr. GouldTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) on what basis the decision to close the royal parks apprentice training centre was taken; and how much money will be saved by the closure;
(2) what will be the future arrangements for apprentice training and who will fix the pay for apprentices, following contracting out of the management of the royal parks; and what arrangements will be made for apprentices to gain experience in a range of parks following contracting out.
§ Mr. HeseltineWhen the gardening and landscape maintenance work is contracted out next March the royal parks will no longer employ any horticultural apprentices and there will be no need for the training centre at Eltham. The Department will, however, require companies awarded contracts in the parks to take part in a new royal parks apprenticeship scheme. The academic part of the training will be provided at Southwark college. Successful tenderers will offer employment to existing apprentices and make arrangements for them to complete their training. They will also be required to take on new apprentices each year to continue training at its present level. Where necessary, arrangements will be made for apprentices to move between parks to get a wide range of experience. It will be for the firms concerned to fix the pay for apprentices, but all firms tendering for contracts are being asked to supply information about their proposed rates of pay and that will be taken into account in awarding contracts.
§ Mr. GouldTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment which outside consultants have been involved in the drawing up of specifications for the management of each of the royal parks.
§ Mr. HeseltineNo specifications are being drawn up for the management of the royal parks, which will remain the responsibility of my Department. The firm of Gillespies has been involved in drawing up the specifications for the day-to-day garden and landscape maintenance work in the royal parks.
§ Mr. GouldTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what savings he expects to achieve from the contracting out of the management of the royal parks; and what are the redundancy costs involved.
§ Mr. HeseltineThe contracting-out of the garden and landscape maintenance work in the royal parks is about maintaining and raising standards and spreading those standards to other parts of the country, while ensuring better value for money. The costs of the redundancies and early retirement have been estimated at around £3 million. This is an acceptable, one-off cost to bear for the benefits of moving this work into the private sector.
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§ Mr. GouldTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what concern with standards of horticulture has led to the appointment of an advisory committee on standards in the royal parks.
§ Mr. HeseltineI am determined to ensure that the standards of horticulture in the royal parks are high. Robin Herbert, president of the Royal Horticultural Society, and his panel will provide a source of independent advice to this process.
§ Mr. Harry GreenwayTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement on the running of the royal parks.
§ Mr. YeoWe are determined that in future the existing high standards of quality in the royal parks should be maintained and where possible improved. We have recently undertaken two initiatives aimed at achieving this. A review group, under the chairmanship of Dame Jennifer Jenkins, has been set up to look at the role and the use of the parks. The group is concentrating in the first place on Hyde park and Kensington gardens and will be bringing forward proposals for improving their overall quality. The review group's report is due early next year. In addition, tenders are being invited to carry out the garden and landscape maintenance work in the royal parks from March 1992. Management of the royal parks will remain the responsibility of my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State. The contracts will be let by the Department to specifications which lay down high standards and will be closely monitored by the park managers.
§ Mr. GouldTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many representations he has received in favour and against the contracting out of the management of the royal parks.
§ Mr. HeseltineI have received a number of representations both for and against the exercise.
§ Mr. GouldTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what horticultural qualifications and experience will be required for the managers of the royal parks when their management is contracted out.
§ Mr. HeseltineThe management of the royal parks is not being contracted out. The parks will continue to be managed by suitably qualified and experienced people employed by the Department.