The Local Government Changes for England (Direct Labour and Service Organisations) Regulations 1994

Functional work: disapplication of tendering requirements

5.—(1) This regulation applies to functional work of a relevant authority undertaken in the reorganisation period, other than work to be undertaken under a single arrangement—

(a) in relation to which the response date falls on or before the order date, or

(b) which is to be completed in a period of less than a year, or

(c) which has an annual cost in any relevant year of less than £200,000.

(2) In paragraph (1) above “response date” in relation to any work means the date specified by the authority as the date by which persons invited in pursuance of section 9(4) of the Act to offer to undertake that work must respond to that invitation.

(3) Subject to the following provisions of this regulation, nothing in section 9 of the Act shall require a relevant authority to have complied with the conditions in subsection (4) of that section in relation to work to which this regulation applies.

(4) But a relevant authority shall, in relation to work to which this regulation applies, draw up the conditions which would have been specified by them for the purposes of section 9(4)(a) of the Act but for paragraph (3) above.

(5) Nothing in this regulation shall be construed as preventing the Secretary of State from serving a notice under section 19A(1)(b) of the Act informing the authority that it appears to him—

(a) that they have estimated the annual cost of work to amount to £200,000 or more, but that the work is functional work which could most economically and efficiently be undertaken in more than one arrangement at least one of which would have an estimated annual cost of less than £200,000; or

(b) that the work is to be or was undertaken in a period of a year or more, but that it appears to him that it could most economically and efficiently be or have been undertaken in a period of less than a year;

and that it therefore appears to him that the provisions of section 9(4)(aaaa) of the Act have not been complied with as regards that work.

(6) In this regulation—

• “annual cost” in relation to any work and any relevant year, means the amount estimated by the authority as the amount which, if the authority were to undertake the work, would fall to be credited in pursuance of section 12 of the Act to the account kept in respect of that work and that year, and

• “relevant year”, in relation to any work, means any financial year during which the work is to be undertaken.