Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will publish all legal advice provided to his Department on the Document Management and document storage procurement process between Filestores; and if he will make a statement.

Crown Commercial Service (CCS) on behalf of the Department for Work and Pensions act as the Department’s managing agent for the Document Management and document storage procurement process between filestores.

Where there is a retender of a single supplier contract under which the incumbent supplier is employing staff to provide services, whether under the contract which is being replaced or when exiting the future contract which is currently being procured, it is part of CCS’s standard approach to seek legal advice from the Government Legal Department to consider the terms of the contracts underlying the transfer.

We will not publish the legal advice received as part of this procurement. Any advice that CCS receives from Government Legal Department is subject to legal privilege and is not disclosable, even in a court of law.