§ Mr. JenkinTo ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, pursuant to the answer by the Prime Minister on 13 December,Official Report, column 700, what assessment he has made of the effects of subsidiarity on the EC acquired rights directive and the Government's market-testing and competitive tendering programme.
§ Mr. David DavisThe Government welcome the European Commission's review of the directive, under subsidiarity, and hope that this will remove the damaging effects it can have on competitiveness and jobs—in particular where it has been inappropriately applied to contracting out.
However, the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 1981 which implement the directive in United Kingdom law have not prevented Departments from market testing or otherwise examining around £1.1 billion-worth of services to the end of December 1993.