§ Dr. KumarTo ask the Deputy Prime Minister what developments there have been in the introduction of alternative dispute resolution methods into public sector contracts; and if he will make a statement. [128669]
§ Phil HopeOn 23 March 2001, the Lord Chancellor published a formal pledge committing Government Departments and agencies to settle disputes by Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) techniques. As part of that pledge, Departments are committed to including appropriate clauses in their standard procurement contracts on the use of ADR to settle disputes arising under those contracts. The document "Dispute Resolution Guidance" issued by the Office of Government Commerce and available on their website at http://www.ogc.gov.uk/sdtoolkit/reference/ogc_library/generic_guidance/dispute.pdf contains further details on the pledge, and includes at Annex B model clauses relating to ADR.