Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the finding by the Reform think tank that £14.3 billion of public money has been wasted by public sector outsourcing contracts.

The Government recognises that outsourcing is an important component in a “mixed economy” of government service provision which includes in-house and the voluntary sector. Government needs the dynamism and innovation that only a healthy, diverse marketplace of suppliers can provide and economies of scale mean services can be provided more efficiently and maximise value for the public.

The Government is committed to improving how we work with the private sector to deliver quality public services and value for money. In February 2019, the Government launched the Outsourcing Playbook which sets out eleven new policies to ensure contracts are set up for success and services are protected in the event of a corporate failure.