Oral Answers to Questions Debate

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Department: Ministry of Justice

Oral Answers to Questions

Andy Slaughter Excerpts
Tuesday 1st July 2014

(10 years, 4 months ago)

Commons Chamber
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Lord Grayling Portrait Chris Grayling
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The contract was awarded through the Cabinet Office as a result of a proper procurement process, and appropriate legal advice was taken.

Andy Slaughter Portrait Mr Andy Slaughter (Hammersmith) (Lab)
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A total of £56 million has been wasted by this Government, rewarding failure, as my hon. Friend the hon. Member for Hayes and Harlington (John McDonnell) said, by one of the Secretary of State’s pet foreign private providers while offshoring hundreds of jobs to India. Why does he not face up to his responsibilities? He is right about one thing: as recently as February he told my hon. Friend the Member for North Ayrshire and Arran (Katy Clark):

“I have a track record of saying that I do not believe in offshoring UK jobs”.—[Official Report, 4 February 2014; Vol. 575, c. 131.]

He is saying one thing and doing another.

Lord Grayling Portrait Chris Grayling
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The hon. Gentleman clearly wrote that question before I answered the previous ones. Let me be clear again: the difficult decision that we had to take about the write-off was taken about a project launched by the previous Labour Government. As I said a moment ago, my position on offshoring has not changed.