Scottish Local Authorities (Tendering) Bill: Stage 3
The next item of business is a debate on motion S1M-1981, in the name of Angus MacKay, which seeks agreement that the Scottish Local Authorities (Tendering) Bill be passed.
As with the stage 1 debate, I will not detain the Parliament for long on this matter. The bill is a short technical bill that contains only two sections. It amends the wording of the Local Government Act 1988 to remove the time limit on the period during which competition provisions in that act may be modified. The bill is necessary so that the current moratorium on compulsory competitive tendering can be continued beyond 31 December 2001.
I have already given assurances to the Local Government Committee and Parliament at stage 1 that we intend to publish legislative proposals on best value in the autumn. Our preparatory work is well under way and we have set provisional timetables for the publication of our proposals. In the meantime, we believe that it would not be prudent simply to repeal CCT without a suitable legislative backing for a best-value regime to replace it. We do not intend to return to CCT by default; we must act now to extend the time period within which we can continue the moratorium. We have chosen to do that simply by removing the date reference in the existing legislation.
In summary, the bill is a technical one that permits us to continue the moratorium on CCT. As such, it is a short-term but necessary solution to a technical problem. It will be necessary until—and only until—we can introduce a replacement best-value regime. We intend to publish the legislative proposals on that regime in the autumn.
I move,
That the Parliament agrees that the Scottish Local Authorities (Tendering) Bill be passed.
I will try to keep within the time limits.
Members will recall that we had a full debate on the Scottish Local Authorities (Tendering) Bill on 17 May. I do not intend to go over the same ground, particularly as colleagues' thoughts may be focused somewhere else. At that time, the SNP made its position clear. We support the abolition of CCT. The bill has our full support in continuing the moratorium. We therefore back the Executive in this instance and call for the bill to receive the whole-hearted support of all MSPs. We look forward to legislation on best value being introduced this autumn.
I too will be brief, but I do not think that I will take 34 seconds, which is what Kenneth Gibson took.
We opposed the bill at stage 1 as we endeavoured to create some impetus within the Executive to introduce legislation on best value at an early date. That has already been introduced in England and Wales. Councils are experiencing difficulties and unnecessary costs in running CCT and best value in tandem. We have made our point. The minister has given an undertaking that the Executive will bring forward detailed legislative proposals on best value this autumn. In view of that, we do not intend to oppose the bill, but we will look for the minister to deliver his promise.
A trend seems to have been set and I do not wish to break it.
On behalf of the Liberal Democrats, I welcome the bill. It is a sensible technical measure to prevent local authorities having to go through an unnecessary exercise to prepare for competitive tendering, which will, I hope, be abolished later this year when best value comes in. I want to put in the Official Report that I did not support the Conservative amendment at stage 1, although I appeared to do so in the voting records. I fully support the Executive's intention to extend the moratorium and I support the bill.
I rise in some pain, but not from listening to what has been said. I have a common complaint among members at the moment—leafleter's knee. By tomorrow at about 10 pm, I hope that it will all be over bar the counting and I can get my knee back into shape.
The bill is a technical one, but the nub of it is best value. I suppose that it could be argued that the Parliament has regard to best value at the moment because we are taking stages 2 and 3 together. That means that we are making proper use of officials' time, the official report's time and MSPs' time. The bill is necessary to extend the moratorium. Although I am being hassled from behind—by Hugh Henry in particular—to stop talking, I will finish what I have to say, which will take only a minute and a half.
At stage 1, Andy Kerr and Michael McMahon referred to concerns about the fact that local authority direct labour organisations and direct service organisations have to run CCT and the early days of best value in parallel. However, CCT and best value are incompatible and that would place a significant burden on the service providers. I am pleased that the minister has said that he will introduce a best-value bill in the autumn.
At stage 1, Pauline McNeill was concerned that the continuation of good salaries and conditions of service should be included in a best-value regime. I am sure that members of the Local Government Committee will take that on board when we consider the bill.
We are serious about the abolition of CCT and therefore we must be serious about getting best value right. It is critical to the delivery of services that we do much more. We trust local government to deliver best value, having regard to agreed priorities. All the key stakeholders that gave evidence to the Local Government Committee agreed that the way forward was to identify outcomes clearly, allowing service delivery performance indicators to be the criteria for awarding contracts, as Andy Kerr suggested.
Finally—Hugh Henry will be pleased to know that I am going to sit down in a moment—public services must be accountable, but they must also deliver. Best value is the way forward. I ask members to support the bill.
I am grateful for members' support and the many telling contributions that have been made to the debate. I am genuinely grateful for the support of Opposition parties and the fact that they did not oppose the bill, which is a necessary measure to continue the status quo of the moratorium on CCT. Keith Harding mentioned our promise. I undertake to deliver on our promise, as we always do on this side of the chamber.
I would like to thank the Local Government Committee for its reasoned consideration of the bill and I would also like to thank the clerks and the other staff involved. This has not been the most taxing bill that we have considered. Nonetheless, all those people made a contribution to its steady progress.
I am grateful for the support of the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities, the Association for Public Service Excellence and the Scottish Construction Industry Group. They have all supported the measure that is before us today and we look forward to working closely with them as we develop our proposals for a replacement best-value regime. I want to pick up on Trish Godman's point: it is very important to get the replacement right, because doing so will lead to the proper use of public funds over a long period in the future.
I commend the bill to the chamber.
That concludes the debate on the Scottish Local Authorities (Tendering) Bill. We will take the decisions at decision time.