Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will take steps to encourage the Government Procurement Service to adopt (a) UN Global Compact and (b) ILO standards; and if he will make a statement.

This Government's procurement policy is to award contracts on the basis of value for money, which means the optimum combination of cost and quality over the lifetime of the project.

The Public Services (Social Value) Act 2012 requires commissioners to consider the economic, environmental and social benefits of their approaches to procurement before the process starts, at the pre-procurement stage.

Wider socio-economic criteria can be taken into account at tender evaluation stage if they relate directly to the subject matter of a contract from the point of view of the contracting authority.