Asked by: Lord Macpherson of Earl's Court (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to review the award of freeport status to DP World owned assets in (1) London, and (2) Southampton.
Answered by Lord Greenhalgh
On 28 March 2022 DP World resigned from the Solent Freeport Board and are no longer a partner in the Freeport consortium.
The Government is working to urgently understand the facts of what happened in this case and establish whether DP World are in breach of any of the requirements on them as investors in the Thames Freeport.
Freeports are expected to receive around £25 million seed capital, paid to a local authority and to be invested at sites within the Freeport geography. Release of funding is subject to approval of a Full Business Case and currently no Full Business Cases have been approved.
Asked by: Lord Macpherson of Earl's Court (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the Accounting Officer for the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government signed off the decision to let a contract to Faculty; whether the Accounting Officer (1) has confirmed that the contract was subject to open competition, and (2) has set out the reasons for the contract meeting value for money considerations; and if so, whether they will publish those reasons.
Answered by Lord Greenhalgh
The approval of the contract awarded to Faculty was completed in line with the Department’s scheme of Delegated Authority.
The contract was awarded following a robust selection process through the Crown Commercial Service’s G-Cloud Digital Marketplace in line with its published processes, further details of which can be found (attached) at www.gov.uk/guidance/g-cloud-buyers-guide.
Faculty’s G-Cloud service offered the best fit with the Department’s identified needs. Faculty’s pricing of this service offer was reviewed against alternative suppliers’ prices and was found to be comparable.
The contract is based on the time and materials used to undertake the required services.