§ Mrs. FyfeTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what steps he takes to ensure that contracts for work formerly carried out in the public sector are awarded fairly. [81603]
§ Angela EagleAll Departmental Procurement is conducted under Government Procurement Policy guidelines and in accordance with the EC Public Procurement Directives (the Directives). The Directives were developed to ensure that: all potential tenderers get the opportunity to bid; there are clear and common evaluation criteria (the criteria); and the criteria are applied to all suppliers with impartiality.
Where the Directives apply, all contracts are advertised in the Official Journal of the European Community and the business is competitively tendered. Where the Directives do not apply, the rules of competitive tendering are nevertheless followed as this is recognised as best practice.
The criterion adopted for evaluation of tenders for Government business is "the most economically advantageous". This is decided upon using value for money criteria, incorporating quality, delivery and price criteria. Recommendations by evaluation panels for award of contract are subject to scrutiny, validation and audit by independent tender boards.