LONDON (Reuters) - Cabinet Office Minister Oliver Dowden downplayed similarities between debt-laden Capita and the now-defunct outsourcing company Carillion, which collapsed in January.

Capita has a very different business model from Carillion, he told parliament on Tuesday, and measures similar to those taken by Capita might have prevented Carillion's collapse.

Outsourcers, he added, "should expect a decent, not an excessive, rate of return ... while ensuring savings for the tax payer."

Capita announced this week it would go ahead with a 701 million pound ($980 million) capital expansion to reboot its strategy and pay off debt.

(Reorting by Elisabeth O'Leary; editing by Stephen Addison)