Patent Office (Hansard, 22 March 1996)

§ Mr. Harvey
To ask the President of the Board of Trade what access trade unions have to private consultants employed in the Patent Office; and what guidelines his Department has issued on this matter. [21660]

§ Mr. Ian Taylor
Trade unions have no formal right of access to consultants employed by the Patent Office. Much will depend on the nature and purpose of the consultancy.
370W

§ Mr. Harvey
To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will list the criteria used to select sections in the Patent Office being considered for process re-engineering, the sections in the Patent Office being considered for process re-engineering, and the number of posts that would be affected by process re-engineering. [21664]

§ Mr. Taylor
The criterion for re-engineering as for other organisational changes at the Patent Office will be the more effective delivery of services. One major project in the patents directorate, which directly or indirectly affects about 40 posts will be implemented on 1 April. This may lead to the abolition of nine posts but a final decision on the number will be taken in the light of experience. No compulsory redundancies are foreseen. Another project across directorates, launched in response to customer requirements, is in its early stages and detailed staffing implications have yet to be worked out.

§ Mr. Harvey
To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will make a statement on his Department's guidelines to Patent Office management on trade union access to staff meetings in the central inquiry unit of the Patent Office in which contracting out is discussed. [21662]

§ Mr. Taylor
Management at the Patent Office follows the Department's 1989 procedures for consultation with the trade union side on proposals for contracting out. The chief executive has also re-emphasised recently his readiness to discuss with the trade unions matters of concern to them. However, management must have the right of direct communication with the relevant staff on contractorisation as on other matters.

§ Mr. Harvey
To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will list(a) the total costs of employing private consultants, (b) the number and names of private consultants currently employed, (c) the sections in which private consultants are currently employed and (d) the number of staff currently employed in the Patent Office; and if he will make a statement. [21657]

§ Mr. Taylor
The total cost of employing private consultants in the current year is £138,400. Marketing Improvements and Coopers and Lybrand have been examining the office's marketing and information technology services respectively and Logica is to advise on possible use of the Internet.
The number of established civil servants employed by the Patent Office is 830. It also uses a number of external IT experts for specialist work and Employment Agency staff for general support services as particular needs arise.

§ Mr. Harvey
To ask the President of the Board of Trade what is his Department's policy regarding meetings with trade union officials at the Patent Office; and if he will make a statement. [21718]

§ Mr. Taylor
The chief executive is ready to call a formal meeting of the Whitley council on any appropriate occasion. In addition he and other members of the Patent Office's management regularly have less formal meetings with trade union representatives to discuss matters of mutual interest or concern. I shall be visiting the Patent Office shortly for meetings with management and staff about a wide range of matters.
371W

§ Mr. Harvey
To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will list the criteria used to select the successful candidate to run the facilities management contract in the Patent Office from 1 April; and if he will make a statement. [21717]

§ Mr. Taylor
The criteria used to evaluate the bids to run the Patent Office's facilities management contract were as follows:
quality of tenderers' proposal, commitment, monitoring and assurance procedures;

tenderers' previous relevant experience;

financial, commercial and technical capability;

Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) implications including proposals for the future of former civil service staff;

recruitment, vetting and training procedures (e.g. equal opportunities, health and safety);

conformance to Patent Office terms and conditions;

overall price and pricing profile.