Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the his Department's guidance entitled Service Costing in Government, published 6 August 2026, whether the guidance is intended to assist assessments on whether to outsource government functions.

The Service Costing Guidance (found here: Service Costing in Government - GOV.UK) is intended to help departments and arm's-length bodies (ALBs) develop robust and proportionate information on the full cost of delivering public services. This supports better-informed advice to Ministers and other decision-makers about the design, delivery, improvement and performance of public services, while strengthening accountability for government expenditure, transparency and value for money.

The guidance supports a range of decision-making needs, including service redesign, efficiency planning, investment prioritisation and value-for-money assessments. It does not prescribe particular operating models or policy decisions such as whether a function should be outsourced, or delivered in-house, which remain the responsibility of departments and ALBs through established governance and appraisal processes.