Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether he has made a recent assessment of the merits of (a) life-cycle costing and (b) best price-quality ratio in relation to public procurement.

UK public procurement policy is to award contracts on the basis of value for money, which means the optimal combination of cost and quality over the lifetime of the project. Public sector procurers are required to assess value for money from the perspective of the contracting authority, using criteria linked to the subject matter of the contract, including compliance with the published specification

Decisions on whether to outsource any particular service are made on a case by case basis according to Treasury guidance and the Outsourcing Playbook. This guidance aims to ensure government makes well evidenced assessments when deciding whether to outsource a public service and helps government and industry work better together to deliver high quality public services.