Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Public Procurement: Covid-19

Thursday 18 January 2024 · 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 2 Not answered 0

Key points

  • Labour Members raised concerns about the adequacy of public procurement processes under the covid-19 emergency regulations.
  • The Minister asserted that established procedures were followed to ensure effective procurement during the pandemic.
  • The Minister denied accusations of special consideration for individual companies during the procurement process.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Debbie Abrahams Lab Oldham East and Saddleworth
Business Compliance
Context

The question arises from concerns about the adequacy of public procurement procedures during the pandemic.

Question

Whether he has made an assessment of the adequacy of public procurement processes under covid-19 emergency regulations. I am concerned about whether the Government followed established procedures to ensure effective and efficient procurement during the worst pandemic in living memory, particularly regarding lifesaving goods and expertise.

Answer from Alex Burghart

There are well established procedures in the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 for handling emergency procurements, which enable the Government to procure lifesaving goods and expertise. We followed those procedures in order to save lives as fast as we could during the worst pandemic in living memory.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The response does not provide a specific assessment of adequacy but references existing regulations.

How: Referencing Established Procedures

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Q2 Tan Dhesi Lab Slough
Employment
Context

Concerns arise regarding the Procurement Act 2023 potentially allowing for similar issues seen during the pandemic, such as bias towards certain companies over local businesses.

Question

I am deeply saddened by the death of our dear friend Sir Tony Lloyd. I fear that the Procurement Act will allow for the same horrific waste of taxpayers' money and the approach to public procurement that we experienced during the pandemic. Can the Minister explain why small and medium-sized enterprises are increasingly being sidelined from access to public procurement?

Answer from Alex Burghart

I have to take issue with a number of the hon. Gentleman's points. The idea, constantly repeated by Opposition Members, that there was special consideration for individual companies is not accurate. Everyone who applied for a contract went through the same process.

Not addressed: The specific concern about SMEs being sidelined is not addressed.

How: Denial Of Special Treatment

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Q3 Debbie Abrahams Lab Oldham East and Saddleworth
Context

Continued concerns about the evidence supporting allegations against public procurement practices.

Question

I absolutely agree with my hon. Friend the Member for Slough (Mr Dhesi). In spite of the Minister's protestations, the evidence is to the contrary —[Interruption.]

Answer from Alex Burghart

I would be very interested to see the hon. Lady's evidence. Where there is evidence of fraud, we will of course go after that, as we have done so in a number of high-profile cases.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The specific ask for evidence is not directly addressed, instead inviting further discussion on the matter.

How: Invitation To Discuss

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Q4 Jon Ashworth Lab
Taxation Standards & Ethics
Context

Concerns arise about the Government's handling of taxpayers' money through various instances of loss and fraud.

Question

I, too, wish to put on the record my condolences to Tony Lloyd's family. The Government lost £9 billion through duff, unusable PPE. The Prime Minister, when Chancellor, signed off £7 billion-worth of dodgy covid loans. Even today, the Government are losing £10 billion to tax fraud, £6 billion to universal credit fraud, and billions more across the public sector as a whole. Is the truth not that families are paying £1,200 more on average in tax because the Government simply cannot be trusted with taxpayers' money?

Answer from Alex Burghart

I really struggle with that line of questioning. Opposition Members have very short memories. This was the worst pandemic that we have had in over a century. The pressures on Government were immense.

Not addressed: The specific concern about mismanagement and increased taxes is not addressed, instead focusing on criticising the opposition.

How: Criticising Opposition

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