§ Lord Ouseleyasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they monitor the equality outcomes of any procurement compliance policies and practices of approved contractors and suppliers; and, if so, what benefits they can point to. [HL3893]
§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Culture, Media and Sport (Lord McIntosh of Haringey)Reference to the contractor's obligations under the Race Relations Act is included in model government contract conditions. Equality issues can also be taken into account in specifications and in selecting contractors where relevant to the subject matter of the contract and consistent with EC procurement rules. Responsibility for approving contractors and for monitoring performance, including any obligations relating to equality, rests with the relevant departmental accounting officer or officers. The Government are committed to equality in all their activities and the Office 197WA of Government Commerce and the DTI's Small Business Service have recently launched two procurement pilots. One is based in the West Midlands region and one in Haringey, north London. The aim of the pilots is to ensure that SMEs have easier access to government contracts and to bring the benefits of greater competition to ethnic minority-owned businesses.