§ Mr. Raymond S. RobertsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make a statement in relation to the provision of home-to-school transport following comments received on the consultation paper, "Competing for Quality: Competition in the Provision of Local Services", published in November 1991.
§ Lord James Douglas-HamiltonIn Scotland, the majority of home-to-school transport is already provided by the private sector, either under competitive tendering arrangements or through other arrangements such as the issuing of bus passes to children. Taking account of the responses to the consultation paper, I have concluded that compulsory competitive tendering need not at this stage be extended to apply to all home-to-school transport, I will, however, keep this position under review.