Asked by: Lord Beamish (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government on what occasions the Secretary of State for the Department of Business and Trade has met, spoken with or corresponded with representatives of Fujitsu, since July 2024.
Answered by Baroness Jones of Whitchurch - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
Details of the meetings held by Ministers of the Department for Business and Trade and its predecessor the Department for International trade are available on transparency pages of gov.uk and are released as part of the Government’s transparency agenda.
Asked by: Lord Beamish (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions have taken place between the UK ambassador to Japan and Fujitsu about the company's contribution to the compensation scheme for the victims of the Post Office Horizon scandal.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
His Majesty's Ambassador to Tokyo has not held discussions with Fujitsu concerning the financial redress scheme related to the Post Office Horizon IT system. The scheme is led by the Department for Business and Trade and the Post Office. Department for Business and Trade officials have met with Fujitsu three times since the General Election to discuss their contribution to the cost of the Horizon scandal.
The Government has been clear that those responsible for the Horizon scandal must be held accountable. This will be determined by the public inquiry, which is ongoing.
Asked by: Lord Beamish (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government which government departments have relationship managers with Fujitsu.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
HMRC, the Home Office, the Foreign Office and the Ministry of Defence have allocated officials to manage the relationship with Fujitsu. In addition, as one of the Government's 39 cross-government strategic suppliers, Fujitsu is managed by the Cabinet Office, with the support of a Crown Representative.
Asked by: Lord Beamish (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many new contracts, or extensions to existing contracts, have been awarded to Fujitsu over the past 12 months by each government department.
Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
Details of central government contracts where the contract value is above £12,000 are published on Contracts Finder: https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Search In addition to extensions available under Fujitsu’s existing contracts, Contracts Finder provides details of six services provided by Fujitsu that have been extended through direct awards since January 2024. These relate to services that Fujitsu was already providing and are in line with the contracts that they replaced, to ensure continuity of public services, whilst competitive procurements are being set up, as appropriate.
The Cabinet Office has reviewed cases for supplier service extensions in line with the commercial spend controls process in order to ensure continuity of public services.
In January 2024, Fujitsu said it would withdraw from bidding for contracts for new work with new Government customers until the Post Office Horizon inquiry concludes – it would only bid for work with existing Government customers where it already has a contract with them, or where there is an agreed need for Fujitsu’s skills and capabilities.
Fujitsu's bid approach is detailed in this letter, deposited in Parliament. For more details, please see here.
Asked by: Lord Beamish (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is the total value of contracts that they have awarded to Fujitsu over the past 12 months.
Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
Details of central government contracts where the contract value is above £12,000 are published on Contracts Finder: https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Search In addition to extensions available under Fujitsu’s existing contracts, Contracts Finder provides details of six services provided by Fujitsu that have been extended through direct awards since January 2024. These relate to services that Fujitsu was already providing and are in line with the contracts that they replaced, to ensure continuity of public services, whilst competitive procurements are being set up, as appropriate.
The Cabinet Office has reviewed cases for supplier service extensions in line with the commercial spend controls process in order to ensure continuity of public services.
In January 2024, Fujitsu said it would withdraw from bidding for contracts for new work with new Government customers until the Post Office Horizon inquiry concludes – it would only bid for work with existing Government customers where it already has a contract with them, or where there is an agreed need for Fujitsu’s skills and capabilities.
Fujitsu's bid approach is detailed in this letter, deposited in Parliament. For more details, please see here.
Asked by: Lord Beamish (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many meetings have taken place between the Department for Business and Trade and Fujitsu concerning Fujitsu making a financial contribution to the Post Office Horizon compensation scheme.
Answered by Baroness Jones of Whitchurch - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
Department for Business and Trade officials have met with Fujitsu three times since the General Election to discuss Fujitsu’s contribution to the cost of the Horizon scandal.
The Government welcomes the fact that Fujitsu has acknowledged their moral obligation to make a contribution to the cost of redress. Once Sir Wyn Williams has delivered his report following the conclusion of the statutory Post Office Horizon IT Inquiry, the Department will consider his findings and take appropriate action.
Asked by: Lord Beamish (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what contracts the Home Office has awarded to Fujitsu since July 2024.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office has awarded two contracts with Fujitsu during the period in question, in both cases to renew existing services provided by the company where it was considered essential for law enforcement purposes to do so. Details of both contracts are published on Contract Finder:
Law Enforcement (LECN) Software Defined Wide Area Network (SD-WAN) continuity
Asked by: Lord Beamish (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government which Ministers have had meetings with Fujitsu since July 2024.
Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
Details of ministers’ meetings with external individuals and organisations are published quarterly in arrears on GOV.UK. Data for the period of July to September 2024 will be published in due course.
Asked by: Lord Beamish (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to introduce the licensing of non-surgical cosmetic procedures in England.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is committed to taking action to address concerns about the safety of the cosmetics sector and is exploring options for further regulation in this area. We will set out the details of our approach in due course.
Asked by: Lord Beamish (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to regulate the cosmetic surgery industry.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is committed to taking action to address concerns about the safety of the cosmetics sector and is exploring options for further regulation in this area. We will set out the details of our approach in due course.