§ Mr. Alan HowarthTo ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will list the contracts awarded by his Department to(a) EDS, (b) Andersens, (c) BMI, (d) Capita and (e) Sema since 1992 and the broad function to be carried out by the contractor, and the value of the contract in each case. [17608]
Mr. John M. TaylorThe following information is held centrally on contracts awarded to the companies in question:
Company Number of contracts awarded since 1992 EDS 0 Andersens 2 BMI 0 Capita 6 Sema 4 All the above contracts relate to external consultancy and their total value is £512,613; commercial sensitivity prevents the disclosure of individual contract values.
Information on other contracts could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
The above information does not include contracts let by the Department's executive agencies, and I have asked the chief executives to reply separately to this question.
Letter from Peter Joyce to Mr. Alan Howarth, dated 28 February 1997:
412WThe President of the Board of Trade has asked me to reply to your question about contracts awarded to EDS, Andersens, BMI, Capita and Sema by The Insolvency Service since 1992.The Insolvency Service awarded a contract by competitive tender to Capita Managed Services Limited in November 1995 for the collection of costs awarded by the courts against directors who are disqualified under section 6 of Company Directors Disqualification Act 1986. Capita's fees are based on a percentage of what they collect: it is thus not possible to say what fees will be earned by them in the three year period the contract runs.No contracts have been awarded by The Insolvency Service to EDS, Andersens, BMI and Sema since 1992.Letter from J. C. Octon to Mr. Alan Howarth, dated 28 February 1997:
In the absence of the Chief Executive on official business abroad I am replying for the Patent Office to your Parliamentary Question to the President of the Board of Trade about contracts placed with various named contractors. The Patent Office has awarded no contracts to any of the companies listed in the period since 1992.Letter from Dr. Seton Bennett to Mr. Alan Howarth, dated 28 February 1997:
The President of the Board of Trade has asked me to reply on behalf of the National Weights and Measures Laboratory to your question about contracts awarded to five companies.The Agency employed Capita Recruitment last year to recruit a member of staff. We paid them at their normal commercial rate.Letter from Jim Norton to Mr. Alan Howarth, dated 28 February 1997:
Mr John Taylor, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Corporate Affairs, has asked me to reply on behalf of the Radiocommunications Agency to your Question about Agency contracts with certain firms.Since 1992 the Agency has contracted with:
- EDS Defence Ltd.,—investigation into increasing the usage and improving the quality of service available on shared channel private mobile radio services in the UK—£69,525;
- EDS Defence Ltd.,—study into PMR channel usage—£62,000; and
- Sema Group Systems Ltd.,—development and documentation of project management standards—£ 15,150.
The Agency has also bought some IT equipment from GCAT (Govnerment IT/IS Catalogue) which Electronic Data Systems Ltd., (and ICL) operate on behalf of CCTA.Letter from John Holden to Mr. Alan Howarth, dated 28 February 1997:
You recently asked the President of the Board of Trade about contracts awarded since 1992 to EDS, Andersens, BMI, Capita and Sema. I am replying in respect of Companies House Executive Agency.Companies House has awarded one contract which meets these criteria. On 1 July 1996 Capita Managed Services Ltd., was awarded a contract to operate a telephone enquiry service and a service involving the acceptance and fulfilment of orders for company searches for delivering by post or fax. The contract is for a 3 year period, and an approximate annual value of £800,000.