Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 31 October 2018 to Question 184391 on Department for Work and Pensions: Contracts, how many contracts her Department has issued with any such clauses in each of the past three years; what proportion of those contracts have been breached; and what sanctions her Department has in place in the event that the clause is breached.

In the last three years the Department has awarded 366 contracts. Management information on this type of provision is not readily available however the appropriate form of this type of standard provision is widely used in contracts across both the public and private sector.

In the event of any contractual breach the Department would pursue a range of remedies depending on the severity. Remedies range from formal remediation plans, through financial redress to termination of the contract.

To date the Department does not have any instances where a breach of the referenced terms has been pursued.