Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what equalities impact assessment his Department has undertaken in respect of the Government Property Agency's decision to retender their Facilities Management contracts in late 2022; and if he will place a copy of that equalities impact assessment in the Library.

At this stage no Equality Impact Assessment has been undertaken for the Government Property Agency (GPA) Workplace Services Transformation Programme that will see the procurement of new facilities management contracts in this current financial year. There is no legal requirement to carry out an Equality Impact Assessment and GPA is confident it has had due regard to the public sector equality duty.

The new facilities management contracts will be procured using Crown Commercial Service (CCS) framework agreements. The commercial terms of these agreements include obligations on suppliers to follow all applicable equality law including protections against discrimination and also any other requirements imposed by the authority in relation to equality law.