Oral Answers to Questions

Samantha Dixon Excerpts

Tuesday 19th December 2023 Commons Chamber

[Laura Trott]

All I can say is that they have definitely gone in the right direction, because the economy next year will be billions of pounds bigger than we thought it was going to be in March.

[Samantha Dixon (City of Chester) (Lab)]

15. What steps he is taking to ensure value for money in public spending.

[The Chief Secretary to the Treasury (Laura Trott)]

Value for money is at the heart of Government spending and it is one of the key considerations for any decision involving the use of public funds across Government. As Chief Secretary, I am committed to tackling waste and promoting productivity across the public sector.

[Samantha Dixon]

Last year, Government officials admitted that they were paying companies to burn and destroy 15,000 pallets of unusable personal protective equipment each month. Does the Treasury have any idea how much wasted PPE has gone up in smoke this year?

[Laura Trott]

During the pandemic our priority was absolutely clear: to get PPE to the frontline as quickly as possible. There was an unprecedented global increase in demand for PPE during the emergency response to the pandemic and items were procured at pace. The Department of Health and Social Care continues to seek to recover fraud losses to ensure that public funds are protected.