Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of the procurement and contract‑management processes used for the Fuel Finder project; and what steps his Department is taking to ensure that public money allocated to this project has been spent effectively and provides value for money.

A competitive and open tender process was run for Fuel Finder in line with the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 and government procurement policies and guidance. Evaluation criteria included quality, technical criteria and total cost.

The Fuel Finder contract is managed in line with the Government Digital Service Standard and is overseen by Departmental project boards, following established governance arrangements and spend assurance processes that apply to all major digital and commercial projects.

All of the above are steps taken to ensure an effective implementation and the project will continue to be reviewed to ensure value for money, minimising and managing costs carefully.