§ Mr. McAllionTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list(a) the companies initially shortlisted for the support services contract put out to competitive tender by the Victoria hospital in Glasgow, (b) those companies still bidding for that contract and (c) the reasons notified to his Department for the loss of interest in the contract by companies originally shortlisted that subsequently withdrew. [26349]
§ Lord James Douglas-HamiltonInformation is as follows:
- (a) ISS Mediclean
- Initial Healthcare Services
- Gardner Merchant Sodexho
- Capita
- Tarmac Servicemaster
- Taylorplan Services.
- (b) Initial Healthcare Services
- Gardner Merchant Sodexho
- Capita
- Tarmac Servicemaster
- (c) ISS Mediclean and Taylorplan Services notified the Victoria Infirmary NHS trust that they would not be submitting bids as they wished to concentrate on their other commitments.
§ Mr. McAllionTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland in what roles Mr. Norman Foster was employed by the Victoria hospital in Glasgow in each month since 1 January 1995. [26351]
§ Lord James Douglas-HamiltonThis is a contractual matter between an employee and the employing trust.
§ Mr. McAllionTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) what steps he has taken to monitor the implementation of Government guidance on competitive tendering at the Victoria hospital in Glasgow; and what assessment he has made of whether it has been implemented adequately; [26346]
130W(2) if he will place in the Library a copy of the guidance on competitive tendering issued to the NHS in Scotland; [26347]
(3) if he will make a statement on the competitive tendering exercise for support services initiated last year and being implemented this year by the Victoria hospital in Glasgow. [26348]
§ Lord James Douglas-HamiltonComprehensive guidance on market testing in the NHS in Scotland was issued most recently to the service in October 1993. Copies of that guidance are available in the Library of the House. The responsibility for implementing market testing within NHS hospitals in Scotland rests with trust boards. It was for the Victoria Infirmary NHS trust to determine the arrangements for the competitive tendering of support services. Safeguards exist to ensure that contracts for goods or services are awarded in a proper manner by health boards and NHS trusts in Scotland. This takes the form of a statutory requirement on all health boards and NHS trusts to undergo an end-year audit by external auditors to ensure that the trust standing financial instructions, and any other financial instructions determined by the management executive of the national health service in Scotland, have been complied with.
§ Mr. McAllionTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland for what reasons no in-house bid was allowed for the contract for support services put out to competitive tender by the Victoria hospital in Glasgow; and to what extent this was in breach of Government guidelines on competitive tendering in the NHS. [26350]
§ Lord James Douglas-HamiltonThe existing in-house service was free to bid for the contract on the same basis as commercial tenderers. The trust did offer to fund independent external advice for any staff group which wished to mount a bid. This offer was not taken up and no bid was made.