Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Covid-19 Contracts: High Priority Lane

Thursday 24 February 2022 · 2 questions

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 1 Partly answered 1 Not answered 0

Key points

  • One hundred and fifteen contracts were awarded through the high priority lane with a total value of 3.8 billion.
  • Between May 2020 and March 2021, 50 suppliers had priority referrals for covid testing support and were awarded 128 contracts with a total value of 6 billion.
  • The Minister stated that recent media claims of 19 additional suppliers being referred through the HPL are inaccurate, and only one other company was included in the priority lane.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Neale Hanvey
NHS
Context

The MP asked about the government's process for awarding PPE and covid-19 testing equipment contracts through the high priority lane.

Question

What is the latest estimate of (a) the number and (b) the value of contracts for the supply of PPE and covid-19 testing equipment to the NHS which were processed through the high priority lane?

Answer from Heather Wheeler

One hundred and fifteen contracts were awarded to 51 suppliers identified through this route with a total value of £3.8 billion. Between May 2020 and March 2021, 50 suppliers had priority referrals for covid testing support and were awarded 128 contracts with a total value of £6 billion.

Answered
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Q2 Neale Hanvey
NHS Standards & Ethics
Context

The MP questioned the government's process for awarding PPE contracts through a VIP lane, citing concerns about potential fraud based on evidence from Gareth Davies of the National Audit Office.

Question

The Minister will be aware that it has been established that there is in existence an additional 18 VIP lane contracts, bringing the total to 68. Between them, they were awarded £4.9 billion in PPE contracts. What steps are being considered or taken to investigate this and to assure the House that the contracts awarded through the Government VIP lane were not fraudulent?

Answer from Heather Wheeler

I am delighted to tell him that he has his facts wrong: recent media articles claim that 19 additional suppliers were referred through the HPL, which is totally inaccurate. Having reviewed the records, I can tell him that only one other company was included, so in fact, instead of 50, the total was 51.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The answer did not address steps being taken to investigate potential fraud as requested.

How: Disputed The Accuracy Of The Figures Provided

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