§ Mrs. SpelmanTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will list services offered by Envirowise that are not available from the private sector; what steps she has taken to invite the private sector to undertake services offered by Envirowise; and when they were taken. [144577]
§ Mr. MorleyEnvirowise provides a range of services to business to promote best practice in preventing and minimising waste in all its forms, reducing pollution and making the most effective use of resources. The programme provides the Environment and Energy Helpline; a dedicated website; best practice publications; and on-site visits. All of these services are provided free of charge to UK businesses.
The programme helps companies to recognise the need to improve their efficiency, and gives them sufficient information to start taking action. Companies may then either build on this activity themselves, or engage private sector service providers.
Envirowise services are delivered jointly by two private sector companies through a contract won in open tender, following an invitation to tender published in the Official Journal in August 1999. The contract requires more than 50 per cent. of the Programme to be sub-contracted, and the managing contractors use over 257W 200 other contractors each year. This includes over 80 specialist consultants on its Helpline panel, who are appointed through open tender every two years.