Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment the Cabinet Office has made of the potential benefits of the application of ISO 44001 to their procurement policy, and the procurement policy of all Departments.

The Government has a long-established approach to identifying, developing and managing collaborative business relationships. For example, the Government recognises the importance of managing its relationships with strategic suppliers, on a cross-government basis, by observing their performance in the delivery of public services and monitoring financial health.

This year, the Government introduced a new approach to the monitoring and management of strategic suppliers through a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the government and each of our strategic suppliers. The approach of using an MOU reflects the Government’s now well-developed relationships with, and understanding of, its strategic suppliers. Under this new approach, strategic suppliers will agree to provide the government with the information it needs to monitor and manage risks across its strategic supplier base, with the full cooperation of industry.