To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what steps he is taking to ensure that private organisations contracted to work in his Department are aware of their duties under gender equality legislation when they are exercising public functions on behalf of public bodies. (101525)

All private organisation contracts for the Wales Office are undertaken via the Department for Constitutional Affairs (DCA). These follow the strict conditions set out in the DCA Terms and Conditions, Clause 26 Legislative Compliance, which can be found at:

http://www.dca.gov.uk/procurement/pdfs/conditions.pdf

“Any breach of this Clause 26 shall entitle the Department to terminate the contract in accordance with Clause 17.2 (Termination) and recover the amount of any loss resulting from such termination.”

All suppliers and contractors accept the DCA Terms and Conditions of Contract.