Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his Department has conducted any risk assessments on public service contracts held with private sector contractors in the North East.

Any public-sector body contracting for goods and/or services has an obligation to carry out an appropriate risk assessment as part of the procurement process. Furthermore, both the Cabinet Office and the Crown Commercial Service (CCS) carry out their own risk assessments of suppliers providing common goods and services to the public sector under their framework agreements.