Social Security: Private Sector

Jenny Willott
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the cost of public regulation of private sector contracted welfare services in each of the next five years.

Jonathan Shaw
DWP providers are subject to external inspection by Ofsted in England and Estyn in Wales to provide assurance that publicly funded provision is delivering a quality experience to all our customers.

During 2008-09 DWP will pay Ofsted £2,800,051 and Estyn £235,000 for external inspection and inspection related activity. The budget for 2009-10 and beyond has not yet been formally agreed.