§ Norman LambTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 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 to 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. [147582]
§ Alun MichaelConsistent with the need to ensure fair and transparent procurement processes in line with legal obligations, the Department's procurement policy is to obtain value for money and protect the public purse. In evaluating any procurement decision containing any offshoring proposals, the Department will have regard to the net cost to the Exchequer.
Defra is currently conducting a procurement according to EU requirements to outsource its IT provision, and award of contract is expected in June 2004. The contract will be evaluated in line with the above policy and will also follow the latest Government guidance on tax planning and tax avoidance. It is expected that around 300 staff will transfer to the new supplier under TUPE (Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) 1981) arrangements.
There was no spend on off shore IT or off shore call centre outsourcing in 2002–03 and in the current year is nil to date. No sum has been budgeted for off shore outsourcing for the years 2004–05 and 2005–06.