§ Mr. HinchliffeTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what guidance he has issued to Cherwell district council and Hampshire county council on the application of the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 1981.
§ Mr. Robin SquireNo guidance on the application of the regulations has been issued to either authority. My Department has, however, made clear in correspondence with Cherwell district council and with the local authority associations that in its view the regulations will not normally apply to the straightforward contracting out of local authority services in consideration of a fee. It is accepted that the regulations may apply in certain circumstances where the arrangements entered into with a contractor are more complicated, but any local authority which attempts to structure a contract to ensure that the regulations apply, or insists that contractors tender on the basis that they apply, may be guilty of anti-competitive behaviour and thus risk sanctions imposed by my right hon. and learned Friend.