Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps the Government is taking to (a) ensure and (b) oversee compliance in respect of the award by contracting authorities of commercial contracts to businesses that supply public bodies and that have been deemed to be at risk under the terms of procurement.

The overarching principle in all public procurement is to secure the best value for money for the taxpayer. While individual departments are responsible for their own commercial decisions, including the award and monitoring of contracts, there are rigorous due diligence processes in place.

The Cabinet Office continuously reviews the performance of strategic suppliers and works closely with those suppliers and their customer Departments to improve performance, ensure value for money and deliver policy objectives while reducing risk across outsourced public services.

At the beginning of the covid-19 pandemic, we issued guidance (PPN 02/20) on 'supplier relief' measures ensuring service continuity during the pandemic. Further guidance, published in June, updated PPN 02/20 and set out how contracting authorities should put in place transition plans with their suppliers to exit any contractual relief and transition to a new, sustainable, operating model taking into account strategic and reprioritisation needs.