11.   That means hiring a private contractor to plow and making sure the contractor is paid.

12.   The Defense Department has been pressing private contractors for options to speed up deployment of missile defenses.

13.   The first step was to check the cost of the in-house services against that which could be provided by private contractors.

14.   The rise of private contractors was made inevitable by the counter-narcotics policies of both Bill Clinton and George Bush.

15.   Will the use of private contractors improve public services?

16.   Hundreds of workers have been sacked, the convener and deputy convener victimized, while millions of pounds went out to private contractors.

17.   When let out to private contractors, corruption and harsh treatment of the paupers was too often added to failure.

18.   Much of the responsibility for dealing with it is likely to be handed over to private contractors, with the Energy Authority having a supervisory role.

19.   The US Environmental Protection Agency has announced plans to cut payments to private contractors for the management of toxic waste.