§ Norman LambTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on his Department's procurement policy with regard to offshore IT and call centre outsourcing; whether his Department is outsourcing IT and call centre jobs to offshore companies; to which countries his Department996W has outsourced these jobs; how much his 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. [147589]
§ Mr. PearsonProcurement Policy in Northern Ireland is based on achieving best value for money while complying with European Community and other international obligations. The 11 Northern Ireland Departments and the Northern Ireland Office have not outsourced call centre or IT work to offshore companies in the last two years and have no plans to do so.