§ Norman LambTo ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will make a statement on her Department's procurement policy with regard to offshore IT and call centre outsourcing; whether her Department is outsourcing IT and call centre jobs to770W offshore companies; to which countries her Department has outsourced these jobs; how much her Department has spent on this outsourcing in each of the last two years; and how much has been budgeted for this purpose for the next two years. [147581]
§ Mr. CabornThe Department for Culture, Media and Sport follows central guidance from OGC on procurement policy. No IT jobs are outsourced to offshore companies and this Department does not operate any call centres. The Department spent £1.2 million on outsourcing in 2001–02, £1.3 million in 2002–03 and the budget for the next two years is in line with previous years.