Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether his Department is taking steps to remove specialist Violence Against Women and Girls services from procurement rules; and if he will make a statement.

The overarching principle in all public procurement is to secure the best value for money for the taxpayer. The Green Paper proposals rightly put value for money at the heart of the new approach for services that are put out to tender. However there is no requirement in the procurement rules for public services to be outsourced.

Where grants are appropriately used to fund these types of specialist provision, procurement rules do not apply: grants are subject to public law and internal government standards, to ensure that the provision is effective and value for money is achieved.