The Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (Michael Fallon)
I can announce to the House our plans for the divestment of public sector ownership of the Constructionline scheme by a competitive sale process. Details of the sale procedure will be published in the Official Journal of the European Union in due course.
Since 1998, the Constructionline scheme has operated within public sector ownership and reduced the administrative burden from business, in particular SMEs, in their pre-qualification for tenders. The Constructionline scheme has also provided the client base with verified data about suppliers which has brought greater certainty to the procurement process.
Constructionline is, however, now no longer the sole supplier of pre-qualification assistance and there is a developing commercial market place for such services. A number of potential opportunities which would allow the scheme to grow and to offer additional services for the benefit of businesses have been identified. The exploitation of these new opportunities is best served by a new owner within the competitive tension imposed by the market.