Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many suppliers have been excluded from bidding for contracts due to their not meeting the criteria in his Department's Procurement Policy Note 03/14 in each year since 2014.

The Cabinet Office's Procurement Policy Note 03/14 requires Central Government to include measures to promote tax compliance in procurement over £5 million. The Ministry of Defence (MOD) is compliant with this policy and includes tax compliance conditions in its tenders and contracts.

Information on whether suppliers have been excluded from bidding for contracts is not held centrally and, as the MOD has awarded nearly 4,000 contracts competitively since 2014, this data can only be provided at disproportionate cost.