Contingencies Fund (No. 2) Bill

Debate between Ruth Jones and Charlotte Nichols

Committee of the whole House & Committee stage
Thursday 11th March 2021 Commons Chamber

[Charlotte Nichols (Warrington North) (Lab)]

Labour’s new clause seeks to make contingency spending more transparent and accountable to our Parliament and, through us, to the public—taking back control, if you will. It is right that Governments have the flexibility to act in an emergency such as this pandemic, but this greater latitude for Ministers should oblige them to be additionally vigilant about the value for money of the decisions that they make and the contracts that they sign. This has unfortunately not been the case. As we have heard from my hon. Friends, this year we have seen case after case of appalling mis-spending of taxpayer money, too often on procurement from Tory friends and donors—with, according to The Times in November, £1.5 billion to Tory-linked firms. Companies and individuals with no track record of producing the materials needed were given vast sums on a promise, and businesses in constituencies such as mine, with experience in manufacturing this sort of equipment, were denied on spurious grounds.

Some of the examples sound as though they come from an old episode of “Yes Minister”: £150 million of the £252 million of unusable face masks ordered from an investment firm advised by an adviser to the President of the Board of Trade; a £60 million contract to provide free laptops for disadvantaged pupils that delivered less than half of what was needed, leaving too many pupils in Warrington North without the tech they needed to learn; and £208 million to provide food boxes wholesale for people who were clinically sheltering, at a cost of £44 a box, when analysis showed that the content could have been bought for £26 from their local Tesco. There was the £133 million to a Tory donor, a private healthcare firm, to make testing kits that were withdrawn for safety reasons. Its contract was actually extended for another six months for a further £375 million, without any other companies being invited to bid. During this time, consultants have been employed on up to £7,000 a day, equivalent to £1.5 million a year, by a Government who believe that nurses and other NHS staff should not even receive a pay rise at least in line with inflation.

We understand that there was an urgency to get contracts in place for PPE in particular, but this was not just a case of suck it and see, as Ministers doubled down on their projects, such as the £37 billion on the outsourced test and trace programme—or test and waste, as it is increasingly known locally. The National Audit Office says that this incredible amount of money has been spent for no clear impact, while the skills and expertise of our local public health staff were spurned. Should we not be demanding better?

We understand that the Government had to act quickly to put contracts in place at the beginning of the pandemic, but we are now a full calendar year on from then. They should no longer be operating in crisis mode, but should be able to make clear, sensible and justifiable decisions. Since the Chancellor announced that he is to run the biggest deficit since the second world war, with public debt at over 100% of GDP, I think our constituents should expect us to be as open about our financial decisions as we can possibly be. It is not onerous to request that the Government make a monthly report on its contingencies expenditure, and improved transparency would help to halt bad decisions earlier, rather than waiting for spendthrift contracts to finally be revealed in court.

This is a reasonable and responsible new clause. A fiscally sound Government should not fear it or have any objection to it.

[Ruth Jones (Newport West) (Lab) [V]]

This is a technical Bill, but it is important and so is parliamentary authorisation of public expenditure. That authorisation is an absolutely crucial part of our democracy and of the principle of parliamentary control over the decisions taken by Ministers in this Government.

Of course, I accept that the Government need to be able to act swiftly and decisively, and that financial control provisions may need to be relaxed proportionate to the need for the Government to take unforeseen and unforeseeable actions to reduce, resolve and mitigate the threats we face. As such, I fully accept the approach taken by the shadow Minister and support the fact that Labour is not opposing the Bill. However, while it is vital that the Government have the space and ability to respond to the crisis, it is vital that Ministers do not take the people of this country for fools. Contracts for cronies, pals from the pub and family members cannot be the order of the day and must be rooted out fast.

The Tories, as we have already heard, have wasted hundreds of millions of pounds across Government during the pandemic, from failed tracing apps to useless PPE to insufficient provision for disadvantaged children. The analysis by my party and other independent organisations shows that the Government have made the wrong decisions throughout the crisis. I hope they will listen and learn. Every penny of public money must be accounted for and the people who pay their taxes must be able to see that these monies are spent wisely and properly.

I support the Bill. I hope Ministers will accept Labour’s new clause and will look to spend the people’s money wisely, sensibly and properly.