Written question asked by John Battle (Labour) on Tuesday, 10 June 2008, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Thursday, 12 June 2008. It was answered by Meg Munn (Labour) on Wednesday, 18 June 2008 on behalf of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

Iraq: Peacekeeping Operations

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps his Department is taking to ensure that Government contracts with British and Iraqi contractors comply with British and international law and are publicly accountable and transparent; and if he will make a statement.

Answer: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) is not able to comment on contracts with British and Iraqi contractors held by other Government Departments.All FCO contracts are subject to a rigorous selection process so that we obtain best value for money. Any company engaged by the FCO needs to pass through a stringent and transparent procurement process in line with public procurement guidelines and best practice. The same rigorous process is followed in the contract management and performance monitoring of these contracts, through a combination of local in-country management and UK based support.Contracts awarded for FCO estate works projects in Iraq are based on standard Government forms of contract which are subject to English law and jurisdiction. In general, these act in harmony with international laws to produce a code of conduct which binds contractors, both explicitly and implicitly, to the code during execution of the contract agreements.

Secondary information