HC Deb 24 July 1997 vol 298 cc694-6W
Mr. Hoyle

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will list those councils which have approached his Department since 1 May in relation to the compulsory competitive tendering of local services, indicating those which Ministers have agreed to meet. [9853]

Mr. Raynsford

There have been a very large number of local authority contacts with Ministers and officials in my Department on a range of compulsory competitive tendering issues. These include possible changes to the existing statutory framework for CCT, the development of a best value framework and pilot projects, advice on the technical requirements of existing CCT regulations, requests for exemptions from CCT requirements and casework concerned with anti-competitive behaviour and financial failure.

Ministers in this Department have had no meetings with particular authorities on CCT issues. We have, however, met the Local Government Association on several occasions at which CCT was discussed. My officials have also held meetings with the Local Government Association and have visited a number of local authorities in connection with best value pilot work.

Mr. Healey

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions, pursuant to his answer of 2 June,Official Report, columns 49–50, on compulsory competitive tendering, what further progress has been made in replacing CCT with a duty of best value; and if he will make a statement. [10603]

Ms Armstrong

Local authorities responded enthusiastically to our 2 June announcement, which confirmed our intention to replace compulsory competitive tendering with a duty to obtain best value, a duty which will require local authorities to deliver the quality of service that local people expect at a price they are willing to pay.

Many authorities have begun work in line with the best value principles published at that time. I now want to build on this work, setting out the proposed framework for best value in England and encouraging local authorities to work towards it consistent with the current legislation. We are therefore writing to all English local authorities inviting them to come forward with proposals to run pilot best value projects and the Home Office will be writing on a similar basis to police authorities. The letter will include the criteria which will be used to evaluate proposals, including the procedures and timetable, and will set the pilot scheme in the context of the framework of best value that we are developing. A copy will be placed in the Library of the House tomorrow morning. In considering bids, we shall be looking to test a wide range of different approaches and services within the best value framework, and to encompass different types of authorities.

Bids will be invited by 1 October, with decisions announced in December, so that local authorities have the maximum amount of time to develop their ideas ahead of a latest start date of 1 April 1998. In coming to a decision on the pilot projects, I expect to draw on advice from a panel made up of representatives from central Government Departments, the Local Government Association, the Audit Commission, the trade unions and the private sector. I shall be writing to each shortly to invite nominations.

We are also to consult local authorities and other interested parties on proposals to modify the current CCT regulations and guidance. This follows a short review carried out by a working group comprised of representatives from my Department, the Welsh Office and the Local Government Association.

Our proposals are designed to enable authorities to adopt best value practices consistent with the current primary legislation. They provide a real incentive for authorities to take the voluntary route to competitive tendering, and significantly reduce many of the prescriptive elements of CCT that have so frustrated authorities and the private sector alike. Full details of our proposals are contained in a consultation paper which I am placing in the Library tomorrow morning. At the same time we shall be consulting on revised guidance on good tendering practice which will promote fairness and transparency in procurement decisions, and a draft will also be available in the Library tomorrow.

Taken together, these changes will build on the renewed interest of both local authorities and the private sector in the provision of quality cost-effective local services. They will release both public and private sectors from the sterile exchanges that have bedevilled CCT in recent years, and encourage innovation and best value to the benefit of those who use and pay for local services.