The Local Government Act 1988 (Defined Activities) (Exemptions) (Scotland) Order 1997

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Order)

Part I of the Local Government Act 1988 precludes a defined authority within the meaning of section 1 of that Act from entering into a works contract or carrying out functional work (or such a proportion of functional work as the Secretary of State may specify) in respect of work falling within an activity listed in section 2(2) of that Act (a defined activity) unless they have competed for the contract or subjected the work to competition. “Works contract” and “functional work” are defined in section 3 of that Act.

This Order specifies six situations in which, in Scotland, work will not be treated as falling within a defined activity for the purposes of that Act.

The first exemption applies where the estimated gross cost to a particular authority of carrying out certain activities in the preceding financial year does not exceed a specified sum. For the majority of activities to which the Order applies (“specified activities” in terms of article 2), that sum is £100,000 (article 3). For building cleaning by Dumfries and Galloway and Fife Councils the sum is £225,000 (article 4). A similar exemption applies to housing management, expressed as a level of housing stock of 2,500 or less (article 5).

The second exemption applies to specified activities where work is carried out by an employee of the defined authority who is required to live in particular accommodation for the better performance of his duties (article 6). The third exemption relates to the provision of certain information technology services for fire purposes (article 7). The fourth exemption relates to the repair and maintenance of fire service vehicles (article 8). The fifth exemption relates to training in social work by way of a course approved or promoted by, or other training promoted by, the Central Council for Education and Training in Social Work, in accordance with section 10 of the Health and Social Services and Social Security Adjudications Act 1983 (article 9).

The sixth exemption allows works contracts of value below £25,000 to be exempt where the work concerned relates to legal, construction and property, financial, IT or personnel services (article 10).