§ Tim LoughtonTo ask the Secretary of State for Health on what basis the Miller Group was selected as the preferred bidder for the property and trading arm at NHS Estates, Inventures. [92540]
§ Mr. Lammy[holding answer 21 January]: A consortium of Miller Ventures and Bank of Scotland was selected as preferred bidder for the property and trading arm at NHS Estates because, following a comprehensive bid evaluation process, its bid was considered to offer best value.
§ Tim LoughtonTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what terms were offered by Miller Group and the William Pears Group in bidding for Inventures; and what assessment was made of the value of proposed clauses relating to claw-back profits on future land sales. [92541]
§ Mr. Lammy[holding answer 21 January]: Both bidders offered a fixed price for Inventures, payable on completion. In relation to the property estate both bidders offered to make a substantial initial payment 473W followed by"overage" or claw-back payments when the sites in the property portfolio obtain planning consent, or are sold.
Overage payments were ascribed an estimated present value (on the same basis for each bid) by reference to risk factors including likelihood of obtaining planning permission, estimated value of the sites with or without planning permission, time at which overage payment is likely to be triggered, percentage overage offered and other relevant factors.
In addition, both bidders also offered to explore ways of introducing a new element of claw back payment by entering into joint venture arrangements with house builders, the effect of which would be to include some development profit in the sums to be clawed back. Whilst this willingness to seek ways to include further sums into claw-back arrangements was assessed as being preferable to a refusal to contemplate such schemes, the degree of uncertainty surrounding this element of the proposals was such that hid evaluation was concentrated upon the standard contractual claw-back arrangements.
§ Tim LoughtonTo ask the Secretary of State for Health when the chief executive of Inventures and other senior staff were told about incentive arrangements likely to be offered in the event of a successful bid from one or other of the final round bidders for Inventures. [92542]
§ Mr. Lammy[holding answer 21 January 2003]: The management and staff of Inventures, which is being sold as part of the National Health Service Estates public-private partnership project, were not made aware of the contents of any bid in relation to incentives offered by the bidders.
NHS Estates rules for bidders involved in the project also prohibits un-chaperoned meetings between the management team and bidders and, to the best of our knowledge and belief, no such meetings have taken place.
§ Tim LoughtonTo ask the Secretary of State for Health whether he has launched an internal investigation into the bidding process for Inventures; and what discussions he has held with the National Audit Office over the bidding process for Inventures. [92543]
§ Mr. Lammy[holding answer 21 January]: During the evaluation period, a review was undertaken in real time by an independent firm of consultants who concluded the process was satisfactory.
A subsequent review by the private finance unit of the Department of health concluded that the bid evaluation process was properly conducted and the preferred bidder selection was correct.
Following a complaint by an unsuccessful bidder, the National Audit Office is also reviewing the process, but this review has not yet been completed and so its conclusions are notavailable at the current time.