§ Mr. BatisteTo ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department which professional services within his Department have been subjected to market testing within the last 12 months and with what result; and which will be subjected to market testing within the next 12 months.
Mr. John M. TaylorIn the last 12 months the Lord Chancellor's Department has let 29 commissions for the professional services required to manage its accommodation and develop new court buildings. Previously these services were provided by PSA Services. Lists of the commissions let follow.
The Department is currently market testing its internal audit services. The results will be known in the next few months.
The Lord Chancellor's Department's plans for next year are still under consideration.
The Lord Chancellor is also responsible for two executive agencies, the Public Record Office and Her Majesty's Land Registry. These are separate Government Departments and questions should normally, therefore, refer specifically to them. In this instance, as the questions concern an operational matter on which the chief executives of the agencies are best placed to provide an answer, I have asked them to reply direct.
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Estate Management Group/Circuit Managing Agent Kingston Group Drivers Jonas M. & O. Circuit E. C. Harris M. & O. Circuit Bernard Thorpe N. E. Circuit Bernard Thorpe HQ Building PSA (BM) SE London Group McBains N. Circuit Grimley J. R. Eve Maidstone Group McBains RCJ Turner & Townsend Wales & Chester Torpy
Scheme Service Company Pontypridd Project management Design Structural engineering Civil engineering W. S. Atkins Alex Gordon Veryard and Partners Hubert Jenkins Leicester Project management Design and engineering Quantity surveying CS Project Management W. F. Johnson and Partners Silk and Frazier Newport, Isle of Wight Project management Design TT Project management Rainey Petrie Bournemouth Project management Widnell Project management Letter from Sarah Tyacke to Mr. Spencer Batiste, dated 25 March 1993:
As part of his reply to your recent Parliamentary Question as set out below, the Parliamentary Secretary at the Lord Chancellor's Department has asked me to write to you about market testing in the Public Record Office.Parliamentary Question: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department, which professional services within his Department have been subjected to market testing within the last 12 months and with what result; and which will be subject to market testing within the next 12 months.Date appeared: 24 March 1993. For Written Answer: 31 March 1993. PQ reference No. 93/261.No professional services have been market tested at the Public Record Office within the last 12 months. The only professional service the Office is proposing to test within the next 12 months is internal audit.If you have any further questions please do not hesitate to ask me.Letter from John Manthorpe to Mr. Spencer Batiste, dated 30 March 1993:
As Chief Executive, it is my responsibility to answer questions on operational matters concerning Her Majesty's Land Registry. The Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department has consequently asked me to reply to your Parliamentary Question to him concerning the Agency's market testing of professional services.Within the last 12 months, market testing exercises have been concluded on professional Building Management and Estates services and on certain professional legal services provided to the Land Registry. In both cases, contracts were awarded to organisations from the private sector.The surveying services provided by both the Ordnance Survey and the Land Registry are currently being market tested but the review has not yet been concluded.No further professional services are the subject of market testing in the current programme which ends on 30 September 1993. The Registry's programme for the following twelve months has not yet been finalised.I hope you find this reply helpful. A copy will appear in the Official Report and a copy will be placed in the House Library.