Oral Answers to Questions

Amanda Milling Excerpts

Thursday 11th June 2020 Commons Chamber

[Lilian Greenwood (Nottingham South) (Lab)]

What steps his Department has taken to remove potential conflicts of interest when awarding Government contracts in response to the covid-19 outbreak.

[The Minister without Portfolio (Amanda Milling)]

As we tackle the covid-19 outbreak, it is crucial that Government contracts are awarded efficiently and responsibly to business of all sizes. Paragraph 24 of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 ensures this by requiring all contracting authorities to take appropriate measures to effectively prevent, identify and remedy conflicts of interest arising from the conduct of procurement procedures.

[Lilian Greenwood]

Further to the question from my hon. Friend the Member for Slough (Mr Dhesi), it was clear that transparency is absolutely vital to public trust in Government. Given that the Minister for the Cabinet Office, Lord Agnew, is responsible for the Government’s policy on coronavirus procurement and is also a shareholder in Faculty, a company that has recently been contracted to provide coronavirus-related services to Government, should not the Government make public the details of the services that Faculty will be providing and Lord Agnew’s involvement in any negotiations?

[Amanda Milling]

I refer the hon. Lady to the previous answer from my right hon. Friend the Paymaster General, which sets out the situation very clearly.

[Mr Gagan Mohindra (South West Hertfordshire) (Con)]

What steps he is taking to implement voter identification requirements for future elections.

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[Justin Madders (Ellesmere Port and Neston) (Lab)]

What proportion of personal protective equipment procured by the Government during the covid-19 outbreak was manufactured by UK businesses.

[The Minister without Portfolio (Amanda Milling)]

The whole country is facing an unprecedented crisis, and British businesses have risen to the challenge with offers of help. Businesses across the UK have stepped up to provide PPE including aprons, face masks, visors and gowns. We have now signed contracts to manufacture over 2 billion items of PPE through UK-based manufacturers, and we have already taken delivery of products from new certified UK manufacturers.

[Justin Madders]

There is no doubt that the devastating consequences of covid-19 were exacerbated because the Government allowed stockpiles of PPE to be run down and were too slow to anticipate the level of need that there would be. Given that in a worldwide pandemic there will inevitably be worldwide demand for PPE, do the Government now accept that it was a mistake to place so much reliance on overseas investors?

[Amanda Milling]

The Government have been working around the clock to get frontline NHS and care workers the equipment that they need to do their jobs safely and to save lives. Since the start of the outbreak, we have delivered over 1.7 billion items of PPE across the health and social care system within England. Plus, tens of millions of items have been distributed to the devolved Administrations. We will continue to pursue every possible domestic and international option for PPE procurement.

[Lucy Powell (Manchester Central) (Lab/Co-op)]

If he will make a statement on his departmental responsibilities.