§ Mr. BatisteTo ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will make a statement about the results of the Companies House contracting-out programme. [39618]
§ Mr. OppenheimThe Companies House contracting out programme announced by the then President of the Board of Trade in December 1994 has now been completed.
The final element of the programme was concluded on 1 July with the award of a contract to Capita Managed Services Ltd. for the running of the Companies House customer enquiry unit and the postal search and search accounts service in Cardiff.
202WThe contract was awarded on the basis of best value for money after a competitive tender in line with EC procurement rules. It will run for three years with an option for Companies House to extend for a further two, one year periods. The contract commenced on 1 July, and 46 full and part-time staff involved in the activities transferred to the contractor.
In running the Postal Search and Search Accounts Service, Capita Managed Services Ltd. will be making records held by the registrar available for inspection by the public and providing copies of such records to the public. This is a function of the registrar determined by statute—Section 709 of the Companies Act 1985—and Capita Managed Services Ltd. has, therefore, been granted an authorisation for this purpose under the Contracting Out (Functions in Relation to the Registration of Companies) Order 1995.
Following agreement in December 1995, Companies House mainframe computer services have, since April this year, been provided under an extension to the DTI's existing contract with Hoskyns.
Competitive tendering has been carried out in respect of Companies House, London and the English satellite offices, Companies House, Edinburgh, and the remittance processing and office services functions at Companies House, Cardiff.
In each case, after careful evaluation of the bids, I concluded that best value for money would be obtained by retaining these activities in-house. This is a great tribute to the management and staff of Companies House who have worked hard over recent years to improve quality and cut costs. The contracting out process has identified significant further savings and these will result in an even more effective service for customers.