§ Mr. McAllionTo ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what is the policy of Her Majesty's Government in respect of requiring there to be an in-house bid against which private sector bids will have to compete in any market test of central Government functions or services.
§ Mr. WaldegraveIn-house staff are encouraged to put forward bids for market tested functions on the same basis and in the same time scale as private sector contractors. Managers are given as much flexibility as possible to propose value for money improvements in service delivery. Internal and external bids are assessed against the same criteria.
§ Mr. McAllionTo ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will list those agencies in his Department which are being considered for privatisation or contractorisation.