Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government by whose authority the Crown Representative was removed from Carillion in August 2017; and what assessment they have made of whether there were negative consequences in terms of insight or influence as a result of not having a designated Crown Representative.

This Government recognises the importance of managing relationships with Strategic Suppliers and their performance on a cross-Government basis, and has developed a range of strategies to do this, including the use of Crown Representatives.

The role of Crown Representative for Carillion was vacant for three months between August and November 2017 following the retirement of the previous post holder. During this period, the Crown representative responsibilities were covered by the Government’s Chief Commercial officer and the Cabinet Office Director of Markets and Suppliers.