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Civil Service (Northern Ireland)

: I congratulate the hon. Member for Foyle (Mark Durkan) on securing the debate. In the barely more than six minutes that remains to me in the debate, I shall cover as many points as it is realistic to cover. Having taken the bulk of time available to us, I am sure that the hon. Gentleman will understand that it will be impossible for me to deal with every one of the issues that he raised. He will therefore have to accept the fact that I shall write to him about such matters. The new Northern Ireland policy on procurement was announced at the Northern Ireland Assembly in May 2002. Its primary objective is to achieve best value for money over the lifetime of a contract. It means securing a procurement that meets the user's needs and achieves a balance between quality and costs throughout the life of the asset. However, as the hon. Gentleman knows, that must comply with the United Kingdom's European Union and international obligations. However, the procurement process must not discriminate directly or indirectly against tenderers from other member states. In that context, European law obliges the Government to recognise beneficiaries only in general terms, such as unemployed people, trainees or young people. The objectives in respect of location can be linked only to the product, service or subject matter of the contract. There is scope to take wider policy objectives into account when defining the requirements of a contract, but the requirement must be relevant to the subject matter of the contract. It must be non-discriminatory to tenderers from other member states, and transparent and consistent with the rules governing each stage of the procurement process. The hon. Gentleman referred to the need for fair play. He is right, but to ensure fair play demands regulations. While I have complete understanding of the case that he makes, he must understand that it is also an obligation on the Government to ensure that fair play meets the regulations that are laid down to ensure that it can take place. As for the specific issue of the particular project of the e-HR procurement process involving Fujitsu and Accenture, I shall deal with one or two of the points he made. However, as I said, he has left me little time to cover them in detail. I hope that he will understand why I shall have to write to him to answer all his questions. The contract procurement process has some history. It dates not from September 2003, but January 2003 when the requisite notice was first published in the Official Journal of the European Union. Let me remind the hon. Gentleman that such criteria can be lawfully included only if they are linked to the subject matter of the contract, do not confer an unrestricted freedom of choice on the authority, are expressly mentioned in the tender documentation or the tender notice, and comply with all the fundamental principles of community law, in particular the principle of non-discrimination. Location was a matter solely for the bidders in determining the most economically advantageous solution. Best and final offer responses from the two bidders, Accenture (UK) Ltd. and Fujitsu Services Ltd., were evaluated using objective qualitative and quantitative criteria, which were made known to the bidders. On 19 October, it was announced that the evaluation was complete, and as a result the DFP intended to enter into further discussions with Fujitsu Services Ltd. with a view to it being selected as preferred bidder.I should like to emphasise to the hon. Gentleman that the procurement process has been extremely robust and has followed best practice as recommended by the Office of Government Commerce and the DFP, including gateway reviews. On the role of PricewaterhouseCoopers, which has been mentioned in this debate and elsewhere in the media, I should like to state clearly that PwC has not provided any consultancy or other role in respect of the e-HR programme since its initiation. I am assured that the question of a conflict of interest does not arise. On the issue of equality, I can confirm that an equality impact assessment has been carried out on the policy of e-HR which relates to the provision of human resource services for the Northern Ireland civil service and the Northern Ireland Office. An equality impact assessment consultation document was circulated for consultation in 2004, and the process of finalising the report continues. The DFP is satisfied that it has fully discharged its legal obligations in relation to the Northern Ireland Act (1998) and its statutory equality scheme. Finally, I can confirm that the discussions with Fujitsu Services Ltd. are continuing and at this stage no preferred bidder has been selected and the contract has not yet been awarded. The hon. Gentleman will appreciate, therefore, that any procurement process in Northern Ireland must adhere to, and be consistent with, European law. Taking all those factors together—I remind the hon. Gentleman that we have considered them carefully—while it may disappoint him, the Department is entirely satisfied that the procurement process for this significant project was robust and adhered to EU requirements. On the wider question of the location of civil service jobs that was raised, Ministers are fully committed to considering the dispersal of civil service jobs where opportunities arise and where value for money can be demonstrated. Current dispersal policy is that it should be linked to accommodation planning, but that it should also have regard to other policy imperatives, such as the new targeting of social needs and the regional development strategy. I appreciate the concerns that the hon. Gentleman raises about the relocation of jobs. While some 65 per cent. of NICS staff in the 11 Departments—nearly 18,000 civil servants—are located in the Greater Belfast and North Down area, a further nearly 35 per cent., or about 10,500 staff, are located elsewhere in the Province. The outcome of the review of public administration, to which the hon. Gentleman referred and which was announced by the Secretary of State last week, will clearly have an impact on the wider distribution of public sector jobs. I would expect significantly more jobs to move out across the Province as a result of the changes, not least within the new health and education authorities. In conclusion, we take the hon. Gentleman's concerns and demands seriously. We are concerned about any question of whether or not a robust procedure applied throughout this, in particular the specific issue that he raised. I would simply say that the Department is satisfied that we have met our obligations. We take them and the issue of equality extremely seriously and we are determined that, where possible, more jobs will move out from Belfast across the Province, ensuring greater equality and addressing the issues of inequality in employment.