Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the Government's agreement with Titan Airways for the lease of A321 transport aircraft was put out to tender.

Details of the contracts for the A321 will be published by the Government shortly. As always, the procurement decision was made with value for money for the taxpayer in mind. The A321 will be substantially cheaper, and “greener” to operate than current arrangements and also offers significant value for money compared to the ad-hoc hire of private planes.

The lease agreement was achieved through the use of existing travel contract frameworks. A tender competition was run using those frameworks following advice from the Crown Commercial and Government Legal Services.