Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to his oral contribution to the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee on 9 May 2018, which providers outside the UK are being examined and for which contracts.

Departments are encouraged to maximise competition in order to achieve value for money. Public procurement are required to go through fair and open competition and procurers are not permitted to discriminate based upon the nationality of the supplier.

In addition, through the Commercial Operating Standards https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/567659/Commercal_Standards_new.pdf, departments are encouraged to maximise competition by designing service requirements that are accessible to as many suppliers as possible, including those from overseas.

The current public procurement rules will continue to apply until the UK has left the EU following the successful conclusion of exit negotiations. The longer-term opportunities for UK Government procurement regulations are being considered carefully.