Written question asked by Emily Thornberry (Labour) on Monday, 19 February 2024, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Thursday, 22 February 2024 (named day). It was answered by Damian Hinds (Conservative) on Monday, 26 February 2024 on behalf of the Department for Education.

PwC: Contracts

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the contract agreed by her Department with PriceWaterhouseCoopers on 21 November 2023 with tender reference 398710/1312346, whether the option for an eight-week extension in that contract was taken up after the end of the initial eight-week period on 16 January 2024; and with reference to page four of the order form for that contract, whether the total contract value of £425,000 included the cost of an eight-week extension.

Answer: The original work was competitively tendered. The option to extend was taken and was legally permitted under the terms of The Public Contracts Regulations 2015. The cost did not include the extension, the contract was extended by 1 month. The final cost of the contract will be published in line with standard transparency requirements.

Secondary information