Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Public Spending: Value for Money

Thursday 8 December 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

  • The Cabinet Office and HM Treasury publish mandatory standards for public spending, such as the Green Book commercial standards.
  • The Cabinet Office has the Public Sector Fraud Authority to combat fraud in public spending.
  • The government acknowledges the occurrence of fraud in public spending but emphasizes efforts to tackle it.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Alex Cunningham Lab
Economy
Context

The question addresses the need for value for money in public spending and the steps being taken to ensure this. It does not reference a specific incident but is prompted by concerns about efficiency and accountability.

Question

What steps he is taking with Cabinet colleagues to ensure value for money in public spending?

Answer from Jeremy Quin

The Cabinet Office and His Majesty's Treasury publish mandatory standards, such as the Green Book commercial standards, enforced through central controls and training. The Infrastructure and Projects Authority shapes the work of Government and, from last year, the Evaluation Task Force is helping to ensure value for money. In its first year, the taskforce advised 169 programmes covering £82 billion of spend.

Answered
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Q2 Alex Cunningham Lab
NHS Taxation
Context

The question arises from concerns over the mismanagement of public funds during the pandemic, specifically regarding PPE procurement. The MP references £9 billion spent on PPE with £2.6 billion wasted on unsuitable items.

Question

Under the Conservative Government's crony approach to public spending, taxpayers' money has been irresponsibly and unforgivably wasted. Some £9 billion was spent on PPE and written off, with £2.6 billion spent on items not suitable for the NHS. Does the Minister agree that the Prime Minister, who oversaw that waste when he was Chancellor, should not only hang his head in shame but go after the money and get it back?

Answer from Jeremy Quin

In the Cabinet Office, through the Public Sector Fraud Authority, we have an extremely effective body targeted at going after fraud where it happens. It is an unfortunate reality that any Government who do a lot are prey to fraudsters. We will always tackle and go after fraud, which is exactly what this Government are doing.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The questioner asked for the Minister's agreement on the need to recover wasted funds, but the answer focused on existing measures against fraud without directly addressing whether such recovery efforts should be undertaken specifically in relation to PPE waste.

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