§ Mr. BeithTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department for which of the private finance initiative contracts entered into by his Department and its agencies there was a public sector comparator; if he will indicate whether the comparator was calculated before or after private sector bids were received; and if he will make a statement. [29788]
§ Mr. StrawMy Department and its Agencies have prepared public sector comparators for the following private finance initiative (PFI) contracts:
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Contract Comparator calculated before or after bids received Coldingley Prison workshop Before Prisons Bridgend After Fazakerly After Lowdham Grange Before United Kingdom Passport Agency: dealing with applications and printing passports After
Contract Comparator calculated before or after bids received Immigration and Nationality caseworking project1 Before Secure Training Centre: Cookham Wood1 After 1 In both cases, comparison could only be made in respect of part of the contract content, and constituted a test for value for money, but not a full public sector comparator. A comparison with the estimated public sector cost of delivering a similar product, taking account of risk transferred in a Private Finance Initiative deal, is made wherever it is realistic to do so. It is used to test whether competitive bids offer value for money.