§ Mr. George HowarthTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) what factors were taken into account in determining which tenders were acceptable for shortlisting for the housing management contracts for the Liverpool HAT; what(a) guidelines and (b) procedures were used for evaluating the tenders; and if he will publish them;
(2) what information will be given to those organisations or individuals who submitted tenders for management contracts for Liverpool HAT which were rejected as to why they were not acceptable;
(3) if he will list those organisations or individuals which have been shortlisted for the management contracts for Liverpool HAT, indicating which are black-based associations.
§ Mr. Baldry[holding answer 18 June 1993]: Responsibility for awarding the contracts rests with the Liverpool housing action trust. The HAT board is evaluating tenders received in accordance with standard public procurement procedures and against the criteria in the information pack sent to prospective tenderers and in the tender document. I am arranging for copies to be placed in the Library.
Any future discussion between the HAT and tenderers on tenders not selected for shortlisting is a matter for the HAT board.
I shall write to the hon. Member with the names of those shortlisted organisations which agree to the release of their names. Information was not sought in the tender process on the ethnic backgrounds of tenderers.