Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many people working on the Procurement Transformation Programme are (a) contingent labour, (b) supplier resource and (c) civil servants.

The numbers of contingent labour working on the Procurement Transformation Programme have fluctuated over the lifecycle of the programme in line with the different levels of requirements needed for procurement work and then moving into transition, with delivery and specific project and contractual milestones needing specialist skillsets. Current contingent labour numbers are 74 as at 29 March 2019.

Supplier resource is agreed based on work packages and costs, not headcount. There are multiple suppliers including public sector bodies and they are required to deliver the work on time and to agreed contractual cost. The programme has no view on how many resources the supplier requires to complete the work.

The programme currently has 11 civil servants working in key positions on the programme with programme director and Senior Responsible Officer included in these numbers as at 29 March 2019.