§ Mr. BercowTo ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department if he will list the functions of his Department that have been(a) market tested and (b) outsourced in each of the last five years, specifying the (i) money saving and (ii) percentage saving in each case. [42994]
§ Mr. WillsThe Lord Chancellor's Department has not market-tested any functions over the last five years. It has outsourced the following functions during this period:
December 1997: ARAMIS, a Private Finance Initiative (PFI) contract for the provision of accounting, financial, payroll and Management Information Services—a money saving of £122.41 million over 9 years three months at 1998 prices;
July 1999: Probate Records Centre, a PFI contract for the design, build, financing and operation of central probate records store for England and Wales—a money saving of £16.4 million over 25 years at 1999 prices;
September 2001: Pensions administration—a money saving of £260,759 over three years at today's prices.
The answer does not provide money saving and percentage saving because the combination of the two would allow contractual payments to contractors to be 477W identified. This information is commercially confidential and is withheld under exemption 13 of the Code of Practice On Access to Government Information.