Asked by: Lord Polak (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether any independent assessment has been conducted of the risks associated with continuing to rely on Fujitsu for critical government services, including the Trader Support Service.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
As a public contracting authority, HMRC follows government procurement rules, including the Public Contracts Regulations 2015, to ensure value for money and robust risk management. The current Trader Support Service (TSS) contract was procured in full compliance with these regulations, as will the replacement contract. HMRC applies the government’s Sourcing Playbook throughout its commercial activity, which includes rigorous risk assessments and financial due diligence. These processes are designed to ensure that suppliers can deliver critical services and that risks—whether operational, reputational, or legal—are identified and mitigated. HMRC maintains active contract management arrangements to monitor performance and ensure continuity of service.
Asked by: Lord Polak (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of Fujitsu's suitability for the re-tendering of the Trader Support Service contract, given the company's role in the Post Office Horizon scandal.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Trader Support Services contract was procured in compliance with the Public Contracts Regulations 2015. Existing service delivery is managed robustly by contract management teams in compliance with this legislation and to ensure that the requirements of UK traders are met under the Windsor Framework.
Asked by: Lord Polak (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government which Fujitsu contracts have been extended by HM Revenue and Customs in the past 12 months; and whether ministerial approval was sought.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
Seven Fujitsu contracts have been extended by HMRC in the past 12 months to ensure continuity of essential services. These are: the Call-Off Contract for COTS Software (Oracle), Crown Hosting Run, Data Services, Data Project Services, Endpoint Detection & Response (EDR) and Vulnerability Managed Service, Pre-Production Environment (PPE) Web Solutions, and the Trader Support Service. As a public contracting authority, HMRC adheres to the procurement rules and spend controls set by the Cabinet Office and HM Treasury, obtaining appropriate ministerial approval where required. Of the seven contracts, six had extension values below the Cabinet Office Spend Control threshold of £20 million and were approved internally by HMRC in line with established processes and governance controls. Only one contract—the Trader Support Service—exceeded the threshold (£66.8 million) and therefore required both Cabinet Office Spend Control and Ministerial Approval.
Asked by: Lord Polak (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the cost to the taxpayer of removing VAT on all defibrillator purchases.
Answered by Baroness Penn
The government has not made a robust assessment of the cost to the taxpayer of removing VAT on all defibrillator purchases.
The Government provides support to aid the purchase of Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs) through VAT refunds on purchases made by local authorities and VAT reliefs for purchases made through voluntary contributions, where the AED is donated to eligible charities or the NHS. Otherwise, they attract the standard rate of VAT.
The Department of Health and Social Care are examining whether there are ways to further expand public access to defibrillators.
The Government keeps all taxes under constant review.
Asked by: Lord Polak (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government how much VAT was collected on defibrillator purchases in (1) 2020, (2) 2021, and (3) 2022.
Answered by Baroness Penn
HM Revenue and Customs does not hold information on VAT revenue from specific products or services, including VAT on defibrillators. This is because businesses are not required to provide figures at a product level within their VAT returns, as this would impose an excessive administrative burden.
Asked by: Lord Polak (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they have taken to ensure that the IMF's support for Lebanon (1) is subject to strict oversight and monitoring, and (2) has mechanisms in place to ensure it is not misspent.
Answered by Lord Agnew of Oulton
IMF programmes in general are subject to strict policies of oversight and monitoring, underpinned by well-established mechanisms.
Under its Articles of Agreement, the IMF must establish adequate safeguards for the use of its resources. IMF lending requires safeguards covering key areas of governance and control to help mitigate the risks of misuse of Fund resources and misreporting of data. These safeguards may include limits on how much can be borrowed, conditions on the loans, measures to deal with misreporting or arrears, and safeguard assessments of central banks.
The UK uses its seat at the IMF’s Board to help shape these policies and ensure that they are applied across all the IMF’s lending arrangements.