HC Deb 06 June 1995 vol 261 cc112-3W
Mr. Duncan Smith

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what action he proposes to take against those local authorities whose direct labour and direct service organisations failed to meet their statutory financial objectives in 1993–94. [27024]

Mr. Robert B. Jones

On 28 February this year, 38 statutory notices were served on 19 local authorities concerning the failure of their direct labour and service organisations to meet the required financial objective in 1993–94.

My right hon. Friend has now considered the responses to those notices, and has today given directions to Bradford city council, highways and sewers; Brent LBC, highways and sewers; Calderdale MBC, building maintenance; Charnwood borough council, building maintenance and grounds maintenance; Durham county council, grounds maintenance, other catering and building maintenance; Great Grimsby borough council, highways and sewers; Hammersmith and Fulham LBC, grounds maintenance, Lambeth LBC, building cleaning; Liverpool city council, highways and sewers, grounds maintenance and other cleaning; Newham LBC, grounds maintenance; North Devon district council, building maintenance; South Northamptonshire district council, building maintenance, other cleaning and sports and leisure management; Southend-on-Sea borough council, highways and sewers; Waltham Forest LBC, building maintenance and grounds maintenance; and Wigan MBC, building maintenance.

These directions take five different forms:

preventing the authority from carrying out the work from 1 April 1996: Bradford city council, highways and sewers.

Requiring an authority to retender all or part of the work, and to seek the Secretary of State's prior consent should they wish to award the work in-house. The work would need to be retendered or a new contract would need to have been awarded by specific dates: Calderdale, building maintenance; Durham, grounds maintenance and other catering; Hammersmith and Fulham, grounds maintenance; Lambeth, building cleaning; Newham, grounds maintenance; and South Northamptonshire, building maintenance and sports and leisure management.

preventing the authority from carrying out the work if it fails to meet the required financial objective a specified financial year or years:

1994–95: Brent, highways and sewers.

1995–96: Charnwood, building maintenance; Waltham Forest, grounds maintenance, and Wigan, building maintenance.

1995–96 and 1996–97: Liverpool, highways and sewers and grounds maintenance, and Waltham Forest, building maintenance.

requiring an authority to retender the work if it fails to meet the required financial objective in a specified financial year, and to seek the Secretary of State's prior consent where the work has to be retendered and where the authority subsequently wish to award the work in-house:

1994–95: Charnwood, grounds maintenance and North Devon, building maintenance.

1995–96: Durham, building maintenance; Grimsby, highways and sewers; South Northamptonshire, other cleaning, and Southend-on-Sea, highways and sewers.

requiring an authority to submit quarterly monitoring reports up to March 1997: Liverpool, other cleaning.

The Secretary of State has also decided to take no further statutory action in respect of financial failure in 1993–94 by: Bournemouth, building maintenance, vehicle maintenance; Durham, new construction over £50,000; Grimsby, refuse collection/other cleaning; Havering, building cleaning; Hillingdon, building maintenance; Lambeth, grounds maintenance; Liverpool, other catering; Merton, sports and leisure management; North Devon, other cleaning; Southend-on-Sea, building maintenance, and Waltham Forest, building cleaning and other catering; Waltham Forest, sports and leisure management; and Brent, sports and leisure management.

This is the first of four announcements that I shall be making between now and October about the action that is being taken against local authorities that failed to meet their financial objectives in 1993–94.