§ Mr. DoverTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what plans he has to hand over the operation of the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre to the private sector. [28284]
§ Sir Paul BeresfordResponsibility for the subject of the question has been delegated to the chief executive of the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre, Mr. M. C. Buck. I have asked him to arrange for a reply to be given.
Letter from M. C. Buck to Mr. Den Dover, dated 8 May 1996:
I would refer to your Parliamentary Question, "To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, if he has plans to hand over the operation of the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre to the private sector."
The Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre has been market tested during the last twelve months and the in-house team bid was successful in winning this test.
Environment Secretary John Gummer announced on 13 February 1996 that he had accepted the in-house team bid in a market test of the management of the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre.
137WIn a Parliamentary Written Answer to Nigel Evans MP (Ribble Valley) on the result of the market test, Mr. Gummer said:
I have now decided to award a five-year service level agreement to the in-house team, based on the existing Executive Agency for the Conference Centre. It will take effect from I April 1996. Having considered the advice of the steering group and of consultants, KPMG, I am satisfied that the hid submitted by this team offers better value for money than those received from elsewhere. It also satisfied the quality and the security requirements set for the test".