§ Mr. HarveyTo ask the President of the Board of Trade what criteria for determining increased effectiveness apart from the issue of benchmarking costs, will be applied in awarding contracts for work currently carried out by civil servants in his Department. [29191]
§ Mr. HeseltineThe criteria vary depending on the particular exercise but commonly include the quality of service offered, the bidder's understanding of the Department's needs, their ability to bring new innovative approaches to the delivery of the services, the continuity of service offered on taking over the work, their commitment to developing a co-operative partnership with the DTI, and the overall value for money offered.