Public Sector Fraud Authority
Debate between Baroness Twycross and Lord Cromwell(2Â weeks, 1Â day ago)
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Baroness Twycross (Lab)
I could not possibly comment on that. What I can say is that public sector fraud wastes public money, drives up the deficit and damages the public sector. We are clear that we want to tackle it, and put structures in place to do this. My noble friend is correct, however, that it is not just public sector fraud that affects the public, and we are determined to do whatever we can to keep the public and the public finances as safe as possible from fraud and error.
Lord Cromwell (CB)
My Lords, these interventions are all very commendable, but are the Government going to get behind the idea of letting those agencies fighting fraud on our behalf retain more of the money they recover so that they can exponentially increase their effectiveness?
Baroness Twycross (Lab)
That is a really interesting proposal. I understand from my amazing noble friend Lady Anderson that a number of trials are under way. I am very happy to meet the noble Lord to discuss this, having offered letters to other people—obviously, I am happy to meet any noble Lord at any point.
European Union
Debate between Baroness Twycross and Lord Cromwell(1Â year, 11Â months ago)
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Baroness Twycross (Lab)
I hope the noble Lord does not think that we are fussing about. Culturally and geographically, this country is clearly part of Europe. I think the Question specified the EU, which is why my responses have related to that.
Lord Cromwell (CB)
Does the Minister share my concern that the divergence between the product standard requirements in the UK and the EU is of increasing concern to UK businesses, as it escalates the cost and the bureaucracy involved in compliance?
Emergency Alert Service
Debate between Baroness Twycross and Lord Cromwell
Baroness Twycross (Lab)
As noble Lords are aware, the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster will chair a dedicated Cabinet committee to oversee the Government’s review of national resilience and preparedness. As part of this, there will definitely be a focus on this whole-society and whole-system resilience and how we can improve it. It is part of the suite of measures that the previous Government were looking at. I think it could go a lot further but it was essentially the correct idea.
Lord Cromwell (CB)
Can the Minister tell the House which companies have the contract for this service? Is Fujitsu one of them?
Baroness Twycross (Lab)
Fujitsu does have a role in the development of the UK’s emergency alert system and continues to play a small role in system maintenance. The maintenance contract is scheduled for renewal in October 2025, with the commercial process beginning in the summer of next year. At the time of retender, any potential supplier would need to bid via the Government’s procurement protocols.