§ Mr. Bob RussellTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what factors led to the New Deal contract for the Colchester District being awarded to SEETEC Business Technology Centre Ltd. [34275]
§ Mr. Andrew SmithThe competition to award the contract to SEETEC Business Technology Centre Ltd. to deliver New Deal in Colchester was fair and open. The competition was conducted by ES officials in line with Treasury procurement principles and followed requirements set down by the European Commission.
ES officials evaluated the outline proposals against predetermined quality criteria. These included an assessment of the overall understanding of the New Deal requirement, quality of proposals for New Deal delivery, and how all the private sector organisations intended to interface and work with local partners. All successful bidders, including SEETEC, met the overall quality requirements and demonstrated expertise and an ability to deliver effectively New Deal in the areas where they were selected.