HC Deb 26 January 2004 vol 417 cc143-5W
Norman Lamb

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills 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

  1. (c) developing and piloting a more efficient system for call handling, in particular for improved ways of working with more specialist providers of family support advice;
  2. (d) developing a ring-back telephone support service offering more detailed support to those parents who need most help;
  3. (e) establishing telephone-based parenting groups; and
  4. (f) promotion of the helpline and email service.

Staffing and systems at Parentline Plus will be flexible so that call-takers can deal with either telephone calls or emails. This means that the 75,000 telephone call/10,000 email balance may change, to best meet demand. It is therefore not possible to quote the cost per email dealt with. It is not possible to state the exact number of parents benefiting from recent investment, although the number of calls/emails are detailed above.

Other work

From the financial year 2000–01 onwards (the first full financial year applicable), central Government funding (including that from Children's Fund partnerships) to Parentline Plus for other work has been:

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. [147592]

Mr. Stephen Twigg

My Department's procurement policy is based on value for money, having due regard to propriety and regularity. My Department complies with the EU Treaty, including the principle of non-discrimination, the EC procurement directives and the UK's international obligations. Provided these principles, and other more detailed arrangements such as those set out in the "Staff Transfers in the Public Sector—Statement of Practice", are satisfied, there is no reason why my Department should not let contracts to offshore companies. This said, my Department has not outsourced any former internal IT and call centre jobs to offshore companies. We have no plans to do so. My Department also lets a considerable number of contracts for services with a very wide variety of partners. Some of those contracts have included IT and call centre elements as an integral part of the delivery arrangements. In no case has there been a direct contractual relationship with an offshore company for an IT or call centre related contract.