HC Deb 19 January 2004 vol 416 cc1055-6W
Norman Lamb

To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs if he will make a statement on the Department's procurement policy with regard to offshore IT and call centre outsourcing; whether the Department is outsourcing IT and call centre jobs to offshore companies; to which countries the Department has outsourced these jobs; how much the 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. [147594]

Mr. Leslie

My Department has a number of contracts for the provision of outsourced IT and call centre services, none of which is based or supported offshore.

No money has been spent in the last two years on outsourcing IT systems to offshore companies, and no money has been budgeted for this purpose in the next two years.

My Department will keep the position under review, in the light of any emerging Government policy, as part of its overall aim to ensure that its procurement activities are based on obtaining best value for money.