§ Mr. Matthew TaylorTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) how much revenue CCTA have raised through commissions paid on sales facilitated by(a) G-cat and (b) S-cat in each of the last five financial years; [151535]
(2) what proportion of orders placed through(a) G-cat and (b) S-cat have exceeded £200,000 in the last year for which figures are available. [151534]
§ Mr. Andrew Smith[holding answers 27 February 2001]: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the chief executive of the Central Computer and Telecommunications Agency. I have asked him to reply.
Letter from Bob Assirati to Mr. Matthew Taylor, dated 15 March 2001]:
The Chancellor of the Exchequer has asked me to reply to your two recent Parliamentary Questions (Ref: 151534, 151535) about GCat and S-CAT. The information you have requested is given below.
For the year up to 31 December 2000, approximately 0.25% of GCat orders (1 in every 400) exceeded £200k in value. The equivalent figure for S-CAT was 3.5% (1 in 33).
The revenues received by CCTA on sales through these schemes for each of the last 5 years is as follows:
£000 >Financial year Gcat S-CAT 2000–01 (up to 31/12/2000) 855.8 1,471 1999–2000 1,248 1,285.5 1998–99 990.7 563 1997–98 561.8 20.3 1996–97 244.8 0 As a self-funding executive agency it is a requirement that the total costs of procurement and contract management are recovered in full. The term revenue in this context relates to the charges levied to contractors to cover these expenses.
Due to the recent variations in volume of business, a revenue review of GCat and S-CAT is being conducted.
General information about income and expenditure related to the services provided by CCTA, including catalogue services, was set out in their last Annual Report and Accounts for 1999–2000, copies of which can be found in the House of Commons Library.
§ Mr. Matthew TaylorTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what the largest contract is that has been placed through(a) G-cat and (b) S-cat; and if he will make a statement; [151578]
(2) what assessment he has made of the benefits that Government Departments realise through the use of G-cat and S-cat; [151579]
(3) what assessment he has made of the compliance of G-cat and S-cat with EC tendering legislation. [151580]
30W
§ Mr. Andrew Smith[holding answer 1 March 2001]: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the chief executive of the Central Computer and Telecommunications Agency. I have asked him to reply.
Letter from Bob Assirati to Mr. Matthew Taylor, dated 15 March 2001:
The Chancellor of the Exchequer has asked me to reply to your 3 Parliamentary Questions about GCat and S-CAT (Ref: 151578, 151579, 151580). The information you have requested is given below.
You asked what assessment has been made of the compliance of GCat and S-CAT with EC tendering legislation. An assessment of compliance with the EC procurement rules was made by CCTA before the GCat and S-CAT framework contracts were awarded. Following the establishment of the Office of Government Commerce (with effect from 1 April 2000) further reviews have confirmed the view that both GCat and S-CAT are compliant with the EC rules.
You also asked what the largest contracts are which have been placed through GCat and S-CAT respectively and if a statement can be made. It is a feature of these schemes that customer organisations contract direct with their selected prime contractors. It is not therefore appropriate for CCTA to give details regarding individual contracts to which we are not party as there may be commercial or contractual sensitivities of which we are unaware. However, in terms of contractual value, the largest individual customer orders placed so far through GCat and S-CAT are valued at £2.5 million and £17.8 million respectively.
Finally you asked what assessments have been made of the benefits that Government departments realise through the use of GCat and S-CAT. In general the benefits gained from these framework contracts are:
- Compliance with EC procurement procedures
- Reduced procurement timescales and costs
- Economy-of-scale pricing
- Simplified ordering with e-procurement facilities
- Sound contractual protection
The quantification and aggregation of these benefits is not a straightforward process as different customers derive differing degrees of benefit according to their own circumstances. However CCTA have estimated that savings during the first 5 years from GCat and S-CAT are approximately £30 million and £3.5 million respectively. The 1999 NAO Report on Modernising Procurement contains further detailed analysis of the CGat efficiency savings.