Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Public Spending: Value for Money

Tuesday 19 December 2023 · 4 questions

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

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 0 Partly answered 3 Not answered 0

Key points

  • Government officials admitted to paying companies to burn and destroy 15,000 pallets of unusable personal protective equipment each month during the pandemic.
  • The Department of Health and Social Care continues efforts to recover fraud losses related to personal protective equipment procurement.
  • The Chief Secretary is committed to tackling waste and promoting productivity across the public sector.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Samantha Dixon Lab Chester North and Neston
NHS Taxation
Context

The question arises from concerns about the efficiency of public expenditure in ensuring value for money.

Question

What steps he is taking to ensure value for money in public spending. Last year, Government officials admitted that they were paying companies to burn and destroy 15,000 pallets of unusable personal protective equipment each month. Does the Treasury have any idea how much wasted PPE has gone up in smoke this year?

Answer from Laura Trott

Value for money is at the heart of Government spending. During the pandemic, our priority was to get PPE to the frontline as quickly as possible despite an unprecedented global increase in demand. The Department of Health and Social Care continues to seek to recover fraud losses.

Partly answered

Not addressed: Amount of wasted PPE destroyed this year

How: During The Pandemic Our Priority Was Absolutely Clear: To Get Ppe To The Frontline As Quickly As Possible.

Was this summary accurate? Tell us

How accurate was this summary? (1 = poor, 5 = spot on)

Q2 Samantha Dixon Lab Chester North and Neston
NHS
Context

The question stems from concerns about fraudulent practices in PPE procurement during the pandemic, with significant losses to public funds.

Question

Throughout the pandemic, people across the country made extraordinary and heart-wrenching sacrifices, yet as they did so, a small minority were instead making millions of pounds by ripping off the taxpayer. With conflicts of interest, defective goods and exorbitant profit margins, it has been greedy and grubby and this Conservative Government have enabled it all. As taxpayers, we want our money back, so Labour will create a covid corruption commissioner to chase down every pound we can. Does the Minister have any idea just how angry people are that our country has been taken for a ride?

Answer from Laura Trott

The hypocrisy is absolutely astonishing. During the pandemic the shadow Chancellor wrote that the strategy of turning to big-name UK manufacturers was not delivering the supply that was needed. Yes, we procured things very fast—we needed to do that to get things to the frontline—and we are trying to get back every single penny that was lost to fraud.

Not addressed: Anger among taxpayers over PPE procurement fraud

How: The Hypocrisy Is Absolutely Astonishing., During The Pandemic The Shadow Chancellor Wrote...

Was this summary accurate? Tell us

How accurate was this summary? (1 = poor, 5 = spot on)

Q3 James Murray Labour (Co-op) Ealing North
NHS
Context

Concern over significant losses to public funds due to fraudulent PPE procurement practices during the pandemic, amounting to £15.9 billion.

Question

The Minister's response really does not reflect the seriousness of the situation. This is not just one bad apple; this is a rotten culture that goes to the very top, with £8.7 billion lost on wasted PPE and £7.2 billion lost to covid fraud. That is £15.9 billion of public money gone at a time when people and public services are struggling. Can the Minister remind the House who was Chancellor at the time that all of this was signed off?

Answer from Laura Trott

I do not know what more I can add to my last answer. This was done very quickly, at pace, because we were desperate to get PPE to the frontline as quickly as possible. We have set up initiatives to recoup money from fraudulent activity including the Public Sector Fraud Authority.

Partly answered

Not addressed: Name of Chancellor during procurement process

How: I Do Not Know What More I Can Add

Was this summary accurate? Tell us

How accurate was this summary? (1 = poor, 5 = spot on)

Q4 James Murray Labour (Co-op) Ealing North
NHS Economy
Context

Concerns about the efficiency of public expenditure in ensuring value for money.

Question

What steps he is taking to ensure value for money in public spending. Last year, Government officials admitted that they were paying companies to burn and destroy 15,000 pallets of unusable personal protective equipment each month. Does the Treasury have any idea how much wasted PPE has gone up in smoke this year?

Answer from Laura Trott

Value for money is at the heart of Government spending and it is one of the key considerations for any decision involving the use of public funds across Government. As Chief Secretary, I am committed to tackling waste and promoting productivity across the public sector.

Partly answered

Not addressed: Steps taken to prevent waste

How: Value For Money Is At The Heart...

Was this summary accurate? Tell us

How accurate was this summary? (1 = poor, 5 = spot on)