Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment he has made of the reasons for the large increase in public sector contracts going out to tender since the EU referendum.

The overarching principle behind all public procurement policy is to award contracts on the basis of achieving the best value for money for the taxpayer.

It is the responsibility of the individual contracting authorities to decide whether, how and when to go to market for the procurement of goods and services.

Analysis by the Crown Commercial Service shows no significant variation in the number of above threshold opportunities advertised in the Official Journal of the EU. Analysis of opportunities over £10k advertised on Contracts Finder show a drop in the levels of procurement activity prior to the referendum, consistent with deferring advertisements during the Civil Service’s period of “purdah”, rather than a sudden increase in new activity since the referendum.