§ Baroness Ludfordasked Her Majesty's Government:
Further to the Answer by the Lord Whitty on 29 June (H.L. Deb., cols 174–176), what are (a) the characteristics of the PPP contract and (b) the special position of Railtrack which make the exclusive negotiations with Railtrack for the London Transport contract escape the competitive biding requirements of the European Union Utilities Directive; [HL3477]
Which principal aspects of the proposed London Transport-Railtrack contract place it within the description of Part B (services) under the European Union Utilities Directive; and within which specific service does it fall; and [HL3478]
Why the contract does not fall in the category of "works" contract of the European Union Utilities Directive for which full competition is required, if it is, in the words of the 15 June statement, for "maintenance and upgrading" of the sub-surface Underground lines and to "build links between the Underground and the national rail lines". [HL3479]
§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions (Lord Whitty)Following the creation of the London Underground public private partnership, private sector infrastructure companies will provide access to the public sector operating company, using assets and employing personnel currently employed by London Underground. The new partnership will involve putting in place contracts setting out the terms on which the use of those assets will transfer to the infrastructure companies and the terms on which the infrastructure companies will provide access to LUL as the train operator. If it were considered that this constitutes the award of a contract for services they would fall within Part B of Annex XVI of the Utilities Directive as supporting and auxiliary transport services. The Directive does not require competition for Part B services and the incidental undertaking of engineering, construction or maintenance does not mean the contracts are works contracts within the meaning of the Utilities Directive.
The special position of Railtrack in relation to the sub-surface infrastructure is that it can offer integration with the national rail network using similar technology. London Underground has therefore decided to explore in negotiations whether Railtrack should be the PPP partner for the sub-surface lines. These proposals will 38WA only be pursued if they deliver real benefits on terms that offer value for money. If not, London Underground will proceed by way of competition, as it proposes to do for the deep tube lines.
In the meantime, in order to facilitate a full competition in relation to the public private partnership for the deep tube lines, London Transport has placed notices in the Official Journal of the European Communities, on a voluntary basis, inviting expressions of interest by the private sector.