§ Liz BlackmanTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what further action he proposes to take against those local authorities whose direct labour and direct service organisations failed to meet their statutory financial objectives in 1997–98. [78347]
§ Ms ArmstrongOn 18 December 1998, 26 statutory notices were served on 18 local authorities concerning the failure of their direct labour and service organisations (DLOs/DSOs) to meet the required financial objectives in 1997/98. My right hon. Friend has now considered the responses to those notices, and has decided to give nine directions to seven local authorities.
The Directions require authorities to retender the work by 13 December 1999 if they fail to meet the financial objective in 1998/99, and to seek the Secretary of State's consent where the work has to be retendered and where the authority subsequently wish to award the work in-house.
The directions take the following form:
- Coventry City MBC (vehicle maintenance)
- London Borough of Croydon (building maintenance)
- London Borough of Redbridge (building maintenance)
- London Borough of Richmond upon Thames (refuse collection, other cleaning, other catering)
- South Tyneside MBC (grounds maintenance)
- London Borough of Tower Hamlets (construction and maintenance of sewers)
- West Wiltshire District Council (refuse collection).
The Secretary of State has also decided to take no further statutory action in respect of financial failure in 1997–98 by:
888W
Company Date of meeting Company Date of meeting Novartis 3 August 98 Monsanto 18 November 1998 Zeneca 6 August 1998 Zeneca 28 January 1998 Novartis 22 September 1998 Zeneca 5 February 1999 AgrEvo 23 September 1998 Novartis 11 February 1999 AgrEvo 14 October 1998 Novartis 16 February 1999 Novartis 5 November 1998 AgrEvo and Rhone-Poulenc 22 February 1999 Novartis 9 November 1998 Zeneca 8 March 1999 Cyanamid 11 November 1998 Cyanamid 9 March 1999 Zeneca 12 November 1998 Zeneca 10 March 1999 Cyanamid 17 November 1998 Cyanamid 11 March 1999 AgrEvo 18 November 1998 — —
- Colchester Borough Council (grounds maintenance)
- London Borough of Hackney (supervision of parking and legal services)
- Harborough District Council (building and grounds maintenance)
- London Borough of Hillingdon (finance)
- London Borough of Merton (refuse collection)
- North Somerset Unitary Council (grounds maintenance)
- Northumberland County Council (vehicle maintenance)
- Oadby and Wigston District Council (management of sports and leisure facilities and grounds maintenance)
- London Borough of Redbridge (building cleaning)
- London Borough of Richmond upon Thames (building maintenance)
- Stafford Borough Council (highway maintenance)
- London Borough of Waltham Forest (building maintenance).
Reviews of the financial operations of other councils' activities are ongoing.
Compulsory Competitive Tendering is due to be replaced in 2000 with a duty for councils to achieve Best Value for their local taxpayers. In the run up to Best Value the Government remains committed to ensuring that local authorities' accounts for the delivery of goods and services remain in good financial health and that pressure to minimise costs to council taxpayers is maintained.