§ Mr. DonohoeTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, pursuant to his answer of 10 December 1996,Official Report, column 154, if he will make a further statement on the tendering exercise resulting in the appointment of Ian Dutton as a consultant on 65W self-governing matters; in what manner tenders were invited for this work; how many and which companies applied for the work; what is the (a) value of and (b) duration of the contract under which Mr. Dutton is employed; and what assessment he has made of the extent to which his Department's tendering guidelines were complied with. [12140]
§ Mr. Raymond S. RobertsonIn June 1996 Thomson Partners, a recruitment agency engaged by the Scottish Office, submitted a list of nine possible candidates for this consultancy. Departmental officials interviewed six of those candidates, including Mr. Dutton in August 1996. Four candidates were subsequently invited by officials to tender in writing, on the basis of a one-year contract, renewable by mutual agreement, on a part-time equivalent to a maximum of three days per week. Each was invited to identify a fee as a daily rate, and to submit a plan for the work involved and proposed working methods and priorities.
Mr. Dutton was subsequently appointed on 7 October 1996 on a one-year contract, extendable subject to ministerial approval. Standard Scottish Office terms and conditions for consultancy services apply, together with Scottish Office subsistence rates.
Specialist staff were involved at all stages of this process, and I am satisfied that in all respects the Scottish Office followed the appropriate procedures in this appointment.