§ Mr. MeacherTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list the companies with which his Department has had contracts since 1 September 1990 which have resulted in either financial or administrative problems and have consequently been either renegotiated or terminated.
§ Mr. NorrisThe firms which have been identified are shown in the table. It does not include companies whose 433W contracts have been subject to normal variations or those where novation is a purely technical matter resulting from a change of ownership and the contract is transferred to the new company.
As a matter of policy the Department does not seek to renegotiate the terms of existing road scheme contracts in the event of a company getting into financial difficulties.
Name of Company Description of problems encountered BCW Communications-1 Contract The company went into receivership. The contract was novated to another company. A. F. Budge (Contractors) Ltd—9 Contracts1 The company went into receivership. The contract was novated to another company. Cooper MacDonald plc—3 Contracts1 The company went into receivership. The contract was novated to another company. Eden Construction Ltd—2 Contracts1 The company went into receivership. The contract was novated to another company. A. E. Farr Ltd—1 Contract1 The company went into receivership. The contract was novated to another company. Lilley Construction Ltd—1 Contract1 The company went into receivership. The contract was novated to another company. Colin Buchanan & Partners The quality of the company's work was not satisfactory. The contract was terminated. Peter Davidson Consultancy The company found it could not undertake the requirement as they had proposed in their tender. The contract was renegotiated. Ferranti International plc—3 Contracts Ferranti Road Traffic Systems Ltd were sold to Peek Traffic Ltd, necessitating novations of the contracts. G. & W. Energieanlagen The company had supplier and other problems. The contract was extended. Kingswinford Fuel Injection Services Ltd The company failed to meet the requirement. The contract was terminated. Precision Profiles The company failed to deliver on time. The contract was terminated. 1Road schemes.