Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has taken any steps as a result of Carillion entering liquidation to conduct an analysis and risk assessment of the financial stability and viability of both her current outsourced public service suppliers and in-current tendering of public services in respect of their viability and profit warning records of any bidders.

The Home Office regularly monitors the financial performance of its current strategic suppliers as part of its supplier management processes. As part of the wider Government Commercial Function, the Home Office receives market intelligence from the Markets and Suppliers team, and the department works closely with Crown Representatives who operate at board level with our strategic suppliers and provide insights into company strategy and issues. The Home Office has applied this process in assessing the impact of the Carillion liquidation.

All Home Office contracts are tendered in compliance with the EU Procurement Directives and as part of its tendering process an assessment of financial viability is undertaken, which is in line with best practice and Cabinet Office guidance. The assessment is proportionate to the risk of the procurement being undertaken and is completed on each bidder by independent qualified accountants. The outcomes are considered within the normal tendering governance processes. The recommendations of the independent assessment will be considered alongside any other financial intelligence and insights that are held as part of the wider Government Commercial Function.