---

Sutherland Inquiry

My hon. Friend is right to stress ““pupils, schools and markers””, because markers had a raw deal in the summer. The customer service to markers from ETS was frankly unacceptable and that must improve in the future. That is why we are returning to the tried and tested methods with the previous deliverer of the tests, Edexcel, as announced yesterday by the QCA. I will ensure through the work that we will now do with the OGC that if there are wider lessons to be learned on procurement, we will learn them. It is the case that Lord Sutherland says that the procurement procedure was sound, and he explains why in detail, but we must do everything that we can to deliver value for money. One thing that would definitely not have delivered value for money would have been to forfeit the £24 million that the taxpayer got back. That would be to give in to the Opposition's irresponsible political posturing, which I was completely right to ignore.