Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government how many contracts managed by the Cabinet Office under the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 meet the financial thresholds for key performance indicator reporting set out in section 52 of the Procurement Act 2023 but are exempt from such reporting under the Act's transitional provisions; and what is the total value of those contracts.

Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

The guidance on the transitional and saving arrangements, which determine how the changeover from the previous legislation to the Procurement Act 2023 (Act) is managed and effected by contracting authorities. The guidance states that contracting authorities are not required by the Act to set or publish KPIs for contracts that were awarded under the previous legislation, even where those contracts are above the threshold set out in section 52 of the Act.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask His Majesty's Government what was the Universal Credit overpayment rate for the financial years (1) 2022–23, and (2) 2023–24; and how these figures compare to the forecasted rate used in the Spring Budget 2023 and Spring Budget 2024.

Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

The Universal Credit (UC) overpayment rate was 12.7% of expenditure in the financial year 2022-23, and 12.4% of expenditure in the financial year 2023-24.

At Spring Budget 2023, the Office for Budget Responsibility forecast that the UC overpayment rate would be 12.1% in 2022/23, an underestimate of 0.6ppts from actual 2022-23 outturn (12.7%).

At Spring Budget 2024, the Office for Budget Responsibility forecast that the UC overpayment rate would be 13.2% in 2023/24, an overestimate of 0.7ppts from actual 2023-24 outturn (12.4%).

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask His Majesty's Government, with reference to page 138 of the Department of Work and Pensions Annual Report and Accounts 2023–24 (HC 62) published on 22 July 2024, what proportion of the total £9.4 billion debt stock held by Debt Management at the end of 2023–24 is deemed irrecoverable.

Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government how many government contracts with a value above £20 million excluding VAT have been re-awarded to incumbent suppliers without a competitive tendering process by central government in each of the last five years; and what is the total value of those contracts in each of those years.

Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

Details of all Government contracts, including the procurement procedure used, are published on the Contracts Finder and Find a Tender services above certain thresholds. Details can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/contracts-finder(opens in a new tab).

In certain limited circumstances, it may be possible for a procuring body to make a direct award of a contract, without going through the competition stages set out in PCR 2015. The specific circumstances where this is permitted are set out in regulation 32 of PCR 2015 and the grounds for using the procedure are limited to those listed in the regulation. They include:

• where an open or restricted procedure generates no suitable tenders or no suitable requests to participate

• where the works can be supplied only by a particular operator

• in an extreme urgency

More information is available at Procurement Policy Note 01/21: Procurement in an Emergency.

Found: ❖ No relevant interests to declare Baroness Bertin ❖ No relevant interests to declare Baroness Buscombe

Found: February 2025 10.05 am Watch the meeting Members present: Lord Tope; Lord Bach; Baroness Bertin; Baroness Buscombe

Found: Baroness Buscombe: Clare, you talked about moving to different posts.

Found: Q81 Baroness Buscombe: I wanted to add something in relation to drones.