Mr. Noel Waters:

This is a very difficult issue as I indicated in my opening statement. We continue to work with the OGP with a view to having a completely open and transparent procurement arrangement and we have ambitions in that respect. We hope to be able to make some progress on it this year but our colleagues in the OGP have indicated to us, and we accept, that the particular model we use is such that it is very difficult to devise an open tendering competition that will deliver the service that we need. That is the nature of direct provision. It is demand-led. It can fluctuate dramatically in a matter of months and go down to very low levels. That is one aspect of it and another, which people generally do not mention in respect of direct provision, is that Government policy is also dispersive, with a balanced dispersal around the country. From the word go, the Government wanted to ensure that every community in the country got its fair share of asylum seekers balanced in accordance with the medical facilities, general practitioners, education and all the local services available. Our job at the time was to ensure we gave effect to that while at the same time dealing with a humanitarian crisis.