Horizon: Compensation and Convictions
Debate between Lord Sikka and Baroness Williams of Trafford(10 months, 2 weeks ago)
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Baroness Williams of Trafford (Con)
Can we let in the noble Baroness, Lady Fox, from the non-affiliated Benches, please?
Black Dog Crisis Management Company
Debate between Lord Sikka and Baroness Williams of Trafford(3 years, 1 month ago)
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Baroness Williams of Trafford (Con)
If the noble Baroness wants to give a donation to the Conservative Party, I am sure that it would be welcome. Government procurement is open and transparent and there are very strict rules around it.
Lord Sikka (Lab)
My Lords, I have two questions. First, what skills deficiencies in the Home Office’s 16 directors and 277 senior managers persuaded the Secretary of State to award contracts to Black Dog Crisis Management, a company with £100 share capital and only one employee, who previously worked at the Cabinet Office? Secondly, when will these contracts be published in full?
Baroness Williams of Trafford (Con)
My Lords, I understand that all direct awards are listed in the contracts finder area of GOV.UK. On skills, as I said, this was a particularly novel incident and that is why the STA, which is very restricted in its use, was used in this case.
Daniel Morgan Independent Panel Report
Debate between Lord Sikka and Baroness Williams of Trafford(3 years, 5 months ago)
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Baroness Williams of Trafford (Con)
I thank my noble friend. As I said to the noble Baroness, Lady Ludford, on the definition of freemasonry, the Code of Ethics published by the College of Policing makes it clear that the police must remain impartial and that membership of groups or societies must not cause a conflict of interest or impact an officer’s ability to discharge their duties effectively. As I said earlier, the panel is clear that it found no evidence that freemasonry had any effect on the investigations.
Lord Sikka (Lab) [V]
My Lords, a statutory duty of candour is a necessary first step in checking institutionalised corruption through the sunlight of transparency, candour and frankness. That point was made strongly by the 2013 Francis report, the 2015 Harris review, the 2015 Report of the Morecambe Bay Investigation and the 2017 Jones report on the Hillsborough tragedy, which specifically called for the establishment of a duty of candour for police officers. Can the Minister explain why the Government have ignored such calls? Secondly, if the Government are sincere about creating such a duty, they can easily and speedily adopt the Public Authority (Accountability) Bill, which was tabled in March 2017 by former MP Andy Burnham. There we are—we have ready-made legislation. What prevents the Government adopting it?
Baroness Williams of Trafford (Con)
The noble Lord may not have been here for an earlier question, but I said that the Home Secretary is very keen to speak to the families before publishing our response on this duty.