Asked by: Sarah Edwards (Labour - Tamworth)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps she is taking to ensure that the Government's definition of social value rewards bidders who support businesses across the supply chain and create jobs.
Answered by Mark Ferguson - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
Businesses bidding for government contracts will be judged on their commitment to creating high-quality jobs, tackling skills shortages and supporting young people into apprenticeships and work placements. The Cabinet Office is developing detailed guidance on social value for publication later this autumn.
Asked by: Sarah Edwards (Labour - Tamworth)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how much the Government paid Microsoft for digital services for the last 12 months for which data is available.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
Full information on government spend with Microsoft is not held centrally by the Cabinet Office (CO), as individual departments and public bodies are responsible for their own procurement and contractual arrangements.
However, the Crown Commercial Service (CCS), an executive agency of the Cabinet Office, manages the Strategic Partnership Arrangement 2024 (SPA24) with Microsoft.
Approximately £1.9 billion has been spent on Microsoft software licences via third-party resellers in the financial year 2024/25. This spend is through SPA24 and its predecessor DTA-21. These agreements enable all eligible UK public sector organisations to access discounted pricing on a range of Microsoft products.