In a written question to the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, Charles Walker asks about outsourcing by the department.

Mr. Walker: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions which functions of his Department have been privatised or outsourced since May 2005. [127447]

Mrs. McGuire: Since May 2005 the Department has outsourced the following functions:

The processing of winter fuel payments;

The pension credit application line;

Clerical case management for some Child Support Agency cases;

Support for Child Support Agency debt collection.

In addition since 2005 the Department has re-let a number of deals for services that had originally been outsourced before 2005. These were:

Office services-contract awarded September 2006.

Medical services-contract awarded September 2005.

None of these outsourced services are delivered outside the United Kingdom.

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