Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many companies bid for the Secure English Language Test for applicants within the UK; what the value was of that contract; and who was awarded that contract.

Three companies bid for the Secure English Language Test for applicants abroad. The contract was awarded to IELTS Consortium; the Consortium is made up of Cambridge English Language Assessment as Consortium Lead, with British Council and IDP IELTS Australia. The Concession Agreement is cost neutral as it was procured as a concession, rather than a contract, with test-takers paying the test provider directly. The Home Office has not provided funding to the service providers under this arrangement. An estimate of the market value is approximately £60 million per annum worldwide, based on expected volumes of upwards of 400,000 SELT tests at an average cost of £150 per test.