Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what is the timescale for the Government agreeing a living will with Interserve; and whether the Government plans for that living will to cover all public sector contracts the company holds.

Cabinet Office monitors the financial health of all of our strategic suppliers, including Interserve, and has regular discussions with the company’s management. The Government’s priority is to protect the delivery of public services.

As the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster announced on 19 November, Interserve is one of the suppliers who have volunteered to pilot the use of living wills. The companies piloting living wills will provide them in the coming weeks

A living will provides all the information required to transfer service provision safely to a new supplier or take it in house. It is the providers of critical services to government who will need to create living wills. A living will complements and enhances the contingency plans that Government has in place for contracts.