Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the recent court judgment which found that they had acted unlawfully when awarding a contract to Public First, what steps they will now take to ensure that all contracts which they enter into are lawful.

The Government has already addressed procedural issues raised by this case, through the implementation of the recommendations made by Nigel Boardman’s review of COVID-19 communications contracts.

We have published updated guidance on the options available to contracting authorities when undertaking procurements in an emergency (PPN01/21) and the management of conflicts of interest in commercial environments (PPN04/21). Further updated transparency guidance is due to be published shortly.

The Government’s Procurement Green Paper sets out how we will reform public procurement to simplify processes, reduce bureaucracy and create a fair, open and competitive system.