§ Mrs. FyfeTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many people have been made redundant in the past year in the building division of the national health service Common Services Agency, and for what reason; and if the work formerly done by it will now be carried out by(a) direct labour or (b) private contractors.
§ Mr. StewartThirty staff have been made redundant in the past year. It was necessary to restructure the organisation to reflect increased efficiency and change in the workload.
Building Division is fee earning and has to compete with private firms for its share of the advisory, design and consultancy work available at this time in relation to NHS building projects. Private firms have also had to make redundancies where they have not won contracts.