§ Mr. SpearingTo ask the President of the Board of Trade what steps he has taken to inform those of Her Majesty's civil servants currently occupied in the Departments, agencies or other bodies named in any part of his explanatory memorandum to the Deregulation and Contracting Out Bill of the liability of those organisations for partial or complete contractorisation of their services under the powers he seeks in clauses 57 to 64 of that Bill.
§ Mr. Neil HamiltonThe explanatory guide to the Bill contains examples of areas where statutory obstacles to market testing or contracting out exist which could in 171W principle be addressed using provisions in part II of the Bill. The list is illustrative and does not represent firm plans to market test or contract out particular functions except as indicated. In many cases further review would be required, taking into account all relevant considerations.
It is the responsibility of individual Ministers to manage the market-testing programmes in their Departments, including anouncements relating to any intention to use the provisions in the contracting-out part of the Bill if enacted.
In respect of my Department the heads of the management units concerned informed their staff about the implications for them of the Bill, and the explanatory material, when the Bill was introduced to Parliament.