§ Mr. Nigel GriffithsTo ask the President of the Board of Trade how many tenders were received for the contract for the review of the Insolvency Service which was awarded to Stoy Hayward.
§ Mr. Neil HamiltonThree tenders were received and all three parties were interviewed before the contract was awarded.
§ Mr. Nigel GriffithsTo ask the President of the Board of Trade how much the Stoy Hayward report cost.
§ Mr. Neil HamiltonThis information is commercially confidential.
§ Mr. Nigel GriffithsTo ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will place in the Library the minutes of the Department's resources management group held on 13 July 1993 relating to the staffing needs of the Insolvency Service.
§ Mr. Neil HamiltonNo, the discussions of the Department's Resource Management Group are an internal matter for the Department.
§ Mr. Nigel GriffithsTo ask the President of the Board of Trade how many complaints have been received under the Insolvency Service published standards by(a) the inspector general and chief executive, (b) official receivers and (c) the President of the Board of Trade for each of the last two years.
§ Mr. Neil HamiltonThe Insolvency Service Standard, published in March 1993, has been in place for less than a year. In that time no letters have been received under it by my right hon. Friend the President of the Board of Trade. The Inspector General and Agency Chief Executive has received letters relating to 23 cases under its terms. Complaints made to official receivers which are satisfactorily dealt with at that level are not recorded centrally.
§ Mr. Nigel GriffithsTo ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will place the Stoy Hayward report into the Insolvency Service in the Library.
§ Mr. Neil HamiltonAs announced on 7 February, a summary of the report has been placed in the Library of the House.
§ Mr. Nigel GriffithsTo ask the President of the Board of Trade how many tenders were received for the second stage review of the privatisation of the Insolvency Service.
§ Mr. Neil HamiltonA letter of invitation to bid for the second phase of the review was issued on 4 February 1994.
320W
§ Mr. Nigel GriffithsTo ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will publish the projected budgets and staffing levels for the Insolvency Service for the next three years.
§ Mr. Neil HamiltonThe allocation of budgets and manpower to the Insolvency Service for 1994–95 has yet to be made. Budgets and staffing levels for future years will depend on the outcome of future Public Expenditure Surveys.
§ Mr. Nigel GriffithsTo ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will detail moneys paid into the Insolvency Service account in respect of interest on the money received by liquidators and invested for each of the past five years, together with details of the amounts paid to the commissioners of the Inland Revenue.
§ Mr. Neil HamiltonThe details are as follows:
Year ended 31 March Interest paid (net of tax) £'000 Amounts paid to Inland Revenue £'000 1989 1,887 662 1990 2,030 677 1991 1,700 499 1992 1,949 562 1993 1,946 804
§ Mr. Nigel GriffithsTo ask the President of the Board of Trade how many temporary staff were employed by the Insolvency Service in January 1993, April 1993 arid January 1994; and how many he estimates will be in post in April.
§ Mr. Neil HamiltonThe number of casual staff employed by the Insolvency Service in January 1993, April 1993 and January 1994 was as follows:
Number 1 January 1993 164.5 1 April 1993 190.5 1 January 1994 241 The level of resource for the Insolvency Service for 1994–95 has not yet been decided upon.
§ Mr. Nigel GriffithsTo ask the President of the Board of Trade how he defines the term, mechanical processing work, used in his announcement of the review into the future of the Insolvency Service.
§ Mr. Neil HamiltonThe term is used loosely to describe those activities routinely involved in case administration as opposed to investigation.