Capita warnings show it's time to break-up big government contracts

Liberal Democrat leader Vince Cable has challenged ministers to break-up large government contracts so the public sector is less dependent on "a handful of financially fragile" outsourcing contractors.  Vince Cable secured an Urgent Question on Capita on Tuesday after the outsourcing giant revealed losses of more than £500m last year. Capita has also launched a £700m fundraising to reduce its vast debt pile. The news follows the collapse of another major government contractor, Carillion, in January.  In the Parliamentary debate, Vince Cable said:  "What steps has the government taken to reform the system of procurement so that we do not have companies low-balling to win contracts which then make losses? [What steps] have then been taken to break-up some of these contracts so that we are not over dependent on a handful of financially fragile companies?"