§ Mr. Barry FieldTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what use he intends to make of his sanction powers under part I of the Local Government Act 1988 in relation to Mole Valley district council.
§ Mr. Robin SquireOn 6 February 1992, my right hon. and learned Friend served two notices under section 13 of the Local Government Act 1988 on Mole Valley district council, setting out his view that in 1991–92 the authority had acted anti-competitively in carrying out work falling within the defined activities described in section 2(2)(f) and (ee) of the Act—ground maintenance work and the management of sport and leisure facilities respectively.
My right hon. and learned Friend has now considered the responses which the authority has made to the section 13 notices, but he remains of the opinion that the authority acted in an anti-competitive manner in awarding this work to its own work force. He has concluded that the authority's action is such as to justify further use of sanction powers. He has therefore today made two directions under section 14 of the 1988 Act. The effect of the direction given in relation to ground maintenance work is to prohibit the authority from carrying out the work in question beyond 1 July 1993. The direction given in respect of the management of sport and leisure work permits the authority's direct service organisation to bid for the work in a retendering exercise to be completed by 1 July 1993, but requires the authority to seek the 852W Secretary of State's consent if they propose that their in-house work force should carry out the work beyond that date.