§ Mr. Nicholas WintertonTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to his answer of 27 April,Official Report, column 373, if he will list those publications, in addition to the Official Journal, of the European Community, in which invitations are routinely published for construction companies to tender for work on the overseas diplomatic estate.
§ Mr. GoodladThe answer is 2,595. Invitations to tender are not routinely published. It is our policy to invite tenders from construction companies shortlisted after pre-selection procedures.
§ Mr. Nicholas WintertonTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to his answer of 27 April,Official Report, column 373, how often, and in what format, the further information about a wider range of projects to which he refers is circulated to the Export Group for the Construction Industries; if that information includes all opportunities for work on the overseas diplomatic estate, or only selected opportunities for such work; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. GoodladThe answer is 2,596. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office sends a list about once a year to the Export Group for the Construction Industries of key details about planned projects likely to be of interest to United Kingdom construction companies and of an estimated value above a stated threshold. For 1983–86 the threshold was £250,000; for 1987–89, £500,000; and since 1990, £1 million. The latest list will be sent within the next few weeks.
§ Mr. Nicholas WintertonTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to his answer of 27 April,Official Report, column 373, who are the current members of the Export Group for the Construction Industries.
§ Mr. GoodladWe understand that the current membership of the Export Group for the Construction Industries is as follows:
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- ACER Group
- Amec International Construction
- Balfour Beatty
- Biwater International
- Bovis
- Brown & Root
- CEGELEC Projects
- Costain Civil Engineering
- Drake & Scull International
- John Laing International
- Kier International
- Lilley Construction
- Alfred McAlpine International
- Maples
- Miller Construction
- Mivan Overseas
- Mowlem International
- Edmund Nuttall
- Rotary Group
- Sterling International Civil Engineering
- Tarmac construction
- Taylor Woodrow International
- Trafalgar House Construction
- Wade Adams Construction
- George Wimpey International
§ Mr. Nicholas WintertonTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to his answer of 27 April,Official Report, column 373 if he will make a statement on the grounds upon which the French company Glauser International was awarded the £4.8 million contract for the work on the new immigration and consular building in Islamabad.
§ Mr. GoodladGlauser International was awarded the contract, in preference to the other three firms—one of them British—who submitted tenders, because its tender was the lowest, it had an established presence in Pakistan and it offered higher levels of supervision, including an experienced British project manager, and an earlier completion date.
§ Mr. Nicholas WintertonTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to his answer of 27 April,Official Report, column 373, if he will list those criteria by which practicable participation is assessed when considering tenders by British companies for work on the overseas diplomatic estate; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. GoodladThe criteria for practicable participation in given local circumstances are assessed when drawing up the short list of companies to be invited to tender. The criteria include local regulations about the participation of non-local companies and of joint ventures, the managerial and technical competence and the financial status of companies under consideration, the extent of their local presence, experience and knowledge of local working conditions, and their track record in comparable circumstances.
§ Mr. Nicholas WintertonTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to his answer of 27 April,Official Report, column 373, if he will make a statement providing details of the way in which best value for money is assessed when considering tenders by British companies for work on the overseas diplomatic estate.
§ Mr. GoodladBritish companies that meet the pre-qualification criteria are invited to tender in competition with local or other companies, similarly pre-qualified: this ensures competition and the best value of money for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. After their receipt, tenders are assessed on price, compliance with the technical documentation—or acceptable alternatives—and project execution capability.
§ Mr. Nicholas WintertonTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will publish details of those contracts valued at £500,000 or more which have been awarded for work on the overseas diplomatic estate in each of the last five years for which figures are available; if he will indicate, in each case, the location of the work, the value of the contract awarded, the name and the nationality of the company which was given the contract; if any British company tendered for the work; in which publications advertisements for the tender were placed; and why, if a British company tendered for the work, its bid was not successful.
§ Mr. GoodladThe information requested is being deposited in the Library of the House.
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