Mims Davies corrected a written answer on Department for Work and Pensions: Electronic Purchasing Card Solution

9 January 2023 · Commons written answer · Department for Work and Pensions

Emily Thornberry (Labour, Islington South and Finsbury) asked written question 107067 on 9 December 2022. Mims Davies answered on 19 December 2022 for the Department for Work and Pensions, and Mims Davies corrected the answer on 9 January 2023. The correction replaced 1 figure (£36,488,921.81) with 4 figures (69,786, £500, £600, £8,507,730.65). Altogether 138 words differ between the two versions.

The question

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what his Department spent in 2021 on purchasing goods and services with a value of less than £500 on a government procurement card.

Original and corrected answer

Struck through: original only. Bold: correction only.

Original	Corrected
The total spent by the Department for Work and Pensions on items with a value of less than £500 on a Government Procurement ~~card~~ in 2021 was ~~£36,488,921.81.~~ Source: GPC ~~Transactions Folder - Discoverer~~	The total spent by the Department for Work and Pensions on items with a value of less than £500 on a Government Procurement Card (GPC) in 2021 was £8,507,730.65 (69,786 transactions). Source: GPC data. This gives details of all transactions posted during the 2021 calendar year and includes expenditure as well as refunds. The figure quoted is net of refunds. Points to note: The Government Procurement Card (GPC) is a purchasing solution specifically for low risk/ low value purchases, enabling Government to buy from particular suppliers that include both small and medium sized enterprises. The card transaction limit for Approval to Buy (A2B) transactions is £500. Approximately 96% of all transactions are A2B. The card transaction limit for a ‘physical’ card is £600, with exceptions allowed on approval of a supporting business case. Most GPC transactions are for Flexible Support Fund (FSF) expenditure, supporting claimants back into the workplace by covering costs associated with seeking employment, e.g. interview travel expenses.

Original

Corrected

The total spent by the Department for Work and Pensions on items with a value of less than £500 on a Government Procurement ~~card~~ in 2021 was ~~£36,488,921.81.~~
Source: GPC ~~Transactions Folder - Discoverer~~

The total spent by the Department for Work and Pensions on items with a value of less than £500 on a Government Procurement Card (GPC) in 2021 was £8,507,730.65 (69,786 transactions).
Source: GPC data. This gives details of all transactions posted during the 2021 calendar year and includes expenditure as well as refunds. The figure quoted is net of refunds.
Points to note:
The Government Procurement Card (GPC) is a purchasing solution specifically for low risk/ low value purchases, enabling Government to buy from particular suppliers that include both small and medium sized enterprises.
The card transaction limit for Approval to Buy (A2B) transactions is £500. Approximately 96% of all transactions are A2B.
The card transaction limit for a ‘physical’ card is £600, with exceptions allowed on approval of a supporting business case.
Most GPC transactions are for Flexible Support Fund (FSF) expenditure, supporting claimants back into the workplace by covering costs associated with seeking employment, e.g. interview travel expenses.

The question and answer on the Parliament website.

Receipt

Read from	https://questions-statements-api.parliament.uk/api/writtenquestions/questions/1550310?expandMember=true
Date read	15 October 2026
SHA-256	`0227a215e297e6311fa26495b798d7a68ba63ca555c3ba8526eda3488c0f0ded`