§ Mr. NichollsTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what consideration he has given to the recommendations of the Latham report for works services contracts placed by his Department.
§ Mr. FreemanI refer to the answer given to the hon. Member for Tooting (Mr. Cox) by my colleague the Minister of State for the Armed Forces on 30 November 1994,Official Report, column 775. He said that as a major customer of the construction industry the Ministry of Defence is keen to pursue any initiatives which may improve the efficiency of the industry and deliver better value for money. My Department constantly aims to be a best practice client and we therefore welcomed Sir Michael's report. Officials in my Department are actively involved in the follow-up work to the Latham report which is being co-ordinated by the Department of the Environment, and also the efficiency scrutiny into construction procurement announced by the Prime Minister on 13 September last year, which inform the Government response to Sir Michael's recommendations.