Asked by: Viscount Waverley (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
Her Majesty's Government whether they have a strategy for the outsourcing of services; and, if so, whether they plan to alter this strategy as a result of Brexit.
Answered by Lord Young of Cookham
The driving principle underpinning the delivery of public services is – and will remain – the best value for money for the public purse. As part of this, we are committed to opening up government procurement and to identifying opportunities for private and voluntary sector involvement in service delivery where these can offer benefits to the taxpayer.
Asked by: Viscount Waverley (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
Her Majesty's Government which companies are currently contracted to provide outsourced consultancy services by each Government department and to state, for each company listed, (1) the country in which the company, or any relevant parent company, is registered and, (2) the renewal date for any contract through which they are engaged.
Answered by Lord Young of Cookham
Full information on which companies are currently contracted to provide outsourced services to each Government department is not held centrally.
However, a list of those suppliers that departments may engage through the Crown Commercial Service’s range of frameworks can be found at:
http://ccs-agreements.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/suppliers
Since January 2011, details of central government contracts above the value of £10,000 are published on Contracts Finder. Contracts published prior to 26 February 2015 can be viewed at:
https://data.gov.uk/data/contracts-finder-archive
Those published after 26 February 2015 can be viewed at:
https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Search
Asked by: Viscount Waverley (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government which government departments are responsible for their own procurement.
Answered by Lord Young of Cookham
All central government departments are responsible for their own procurement.
The Crown Commercial Service (CCS) provides a range of commercial services to the public sector to enable departments to achieve best value for money from their procurement.
Asked by: Viscount Waverley (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government from which professional bodies the civil service seeks support to discharge procurement responsibilities, broken down by department.
Answered by Lord Young of Cookham
HM Government works with a number of professional bodies to discharge its procurement and commercial activities, principally the Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply (CIPS) and the International Association for Contract and Commercial Management (IACCM).
A detailed breakdown of departments’ dealings with these organisations is not held centrally.
Asked by: Viscount Waverley (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the announcement on 7 October that they intend to remove the 15-year rule on British citizens living overseas voting in parliamentary elections, whether expatriate UK citizens would also be entitled to participate in any future referendums.
Answered by Lord Young of Cookham
The franchise for any future referendum would be determined by Parliament in the primary legislation which provides for that referendum.
Asked by: Viscount Waverley (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the announcement on 7 October that they intend to remove the 15-year rule on British citizens living overseas voting in parliamentary elections, where, and how, expatriate UK citizens would vote.
Answered by Baroness Chisholm of Owlpen
Overseas electors will register in respect of their last UK address, and will cast their ballot in that constituency. They may choose to vote by postal ballot, in person (if they are in the UK on polling day) or by nominating a proxy to vote on their behalf (postal ballots are not available to overseas electors registered in Northern Ireland).
Full details are set out in the policy statement published on 7 October 2016 entitled ‘A democracy that works for everyone: British citizens overseas’ which can be found here:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/a-democracy-that-works-for-everyone-british-citizens-overseas
The franchise for any future referendum would be determined by Parliament in the primary legislation which provides for that referendum.
Asked by: Viscount Waverley (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the result of the EU referendum, whether companies from other EU member states can still tender freely and on equal terms for active public procurement opportunities in the UK; and whether they will be able to do so (1) after Article 50 is invoked, and (2) up until negotiations for the UK’s withdrawal from the EU are concluded.
Answered by Lord Bridges of Headley
The current public procurement rules will continue to apply until the UK has left the EU following the successful conclusion of exit negotiations.
Asked by: Viscount Waverley (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the result of the EU referendum, whether British companies can still tender freely and on equal terms for active public procurement opportunities in other EU member states; and whether they will be able to do so (1) after Article 50 is invoked, and (2) up until negotiations for the UK’s withdrawal from the EU are concluded.
Answered by Lord Bridges of Headley
The current public procurement rules will continue to apply until the UK has left the EU following the successful conclusion of exit negotiations.
Asked by: Viscount Waverley (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the event of the UK's withdrawal from the EU, whether they plan to amend domestic legislation prior to the ratification of any final outcome of negotiations with the EU.
Answered by Lord Bridges of Headley
The implementation of the withdrawal agreement will be a matter for the next government and the new Prime Minister.
Asked by: Viscount Waverley (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether, in the event of the UK's withdrawal from the EU, both Houses would have to approve the final outcome of the negotiations between the UK and the EU.
Answered by Lord Bridges of Headley
This is a matter for the new Prime Minister and their Cabinet. As the PM has said, we have now got to look at all the detailed arrangements, and Parliament will clearly have a role in making sure that we find the best way forward.