§ Mr. CarringtonTo ask the President of the Board of Trade what plans he has for the administration of the principal civil service pension scheme in his Department; and if he will make a statement. [36545]
§ Mr. Jonathan EvansMy hon. Friend the Parliamentary Secretary, Office of Public Service and Science, informed the House on 27 June 1995, Official Report, column 551, that parliamentary approval is to be sought to permit Departments to market test the administration of the principal civil service pension scheme. Subject to this being given, our preferred option would be to contract the work out, provided that it is demonstrated to offer better value for money than continued in-house provision. It will be open to appropriate bodies within Government to compete for this work. In the meantime, officials have been instructed to undertake preparatory work to pursue this option.