§ Norman LambTo ask the Secretary of State for Health 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 Department 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. [147584]
§ Ms Rosie WintertonThe Department's procurement policy is based on value for money, having due regard to propriety and regularity and the requirements of the European Union Treaty, including the principle of non-discrimination, the European Community procurement directives and the United Kingdom's international obligations.
The Department has not outsourced any information technology or call centre services to offshore companies and there are no current plans to do so.