John Robertson
Main Page: John Robertson (Labour - Glasgow North West)Department Debates - View all John Robertson's debates with the Scotland Office
(14 years, 5 months ago)
Commons ChamberRead Full debate Read Hansard Text Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
John Robertson (Glasgow North West) (Lab)
1. What discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions on the awarding of contracts for the Work programme in Scotland; and if he will make a statement.
Dr Eilidh Whiteford (Banff and Buchan) (SNP)
9. What weighting was given to the involvement of voluntary sector organisations in the assessment process of tenders of prime contractors for the Work programme in Scotland.
The Secretary of State for Scotland (Michael Moore)
Over the past year I have had numerous discussions with ministerial colleagues on the development of the Work programme. The Government are encouraging prime contractors to engage voluntary and private sector organisations in the delivery of the programme.
John Robertson
Does the Secretary of State share my concern that the Minister of State, Department for Work and Pensions, the right hon. Member for Epsom and Ewell (Chris Grayling), may have broken the ministerial code of conduct in awarding the contracts to some companies? Will the Secretary of State make a statement on the matter, and what is he going to do to protect the companies that missed out on the awards that were given out?
Michael Moore
The hon. Gentleman is making a very serious allegation, which my right hon. Friend absolutely refutes. As with any other instance in which people think something inappropriate is happening, there are appropriate channels through which it can be pursued. If there is some evidence on that or any other matter, those channels should be followed.