§ Mr. WilshireTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to his answer of 8 June 1998,Official Report, columns 461–62, on the table purchased for the European Council in Cardiff, on what basis Mr. Jones Parry informed the Foreign Affairs Committee that Her Majesty's Government had accepted the lowest price and had then negotiated a reduction in that price. [46054]
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§ Mr. Doug HendersonThe tendering process for this type of contract is complex. As stated in my answer on 8 June 1998,Official Report, columns 461–62, we received three bids for the event production contract for the European Council in Cardiff. In order to keep costs to a minimum, and to be able to make a better comparison between the bids, we asked all three companies to re-work some elements of their bids. This re-working resulted in a reduction of some £375,000 in the tender of the company eventually selected which, both before and after the re-working, met the necessary standards most cheaply. Dr. Jones Parry explained this procedure in greater detail to the Foreign Affairs Committee on 2 June.