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Public Accounts

I have remembered what I wanted to say. The hon. Gentleman mentioned that people in government feel more secure if they have a consultants' report. Does he recall the case of the Criminal Records Bureau and Capita? Bids were made by Capita and PricewaterhouseCoopers, but there was a difference of £150 million between them. The Department concerned commissioned PA Consulting and paid it £300,000 for an assurance that both bids were compliant. They were, but that was because the terms of reference were drawn so loosely that almost any bid would have been compliant. Not only was that £300,000 completely wasted, but it gave false and misleading reassurance to that Department.