Asked by: Kirsty Blackman (Scottish National Party - Aberdeen North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent steps she has taken to reclaim public funds provided to PPE MedPro.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department had been in a mediated process and protected conversations with PPE Medpro over a contested contract. The discussions did not prove fruitful, and the Department commenced the process of litigation by filing papers with the High Court on 19 December 2022. The Department cannot discuss active legal proceedings, although a Humble address covered this issue in January 2023, and notes were laid in both houses.
Asked by: Angela Rayner (Labour - Ashton-under-Lyne)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when the Government began its mediation process with PPE Medpro Ltd.
Answered by Will Quince
The Department entered mediation with PPE Medpro in September 2021. We continue to monitor the progress of settlement discussions and we will issue formal proceedings should it be necessary.
Asked by: Angela Rayner (Labour - Ashton-under-Lyne)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department made an assessment of the compatibility of PPE Medpro Ltd’s bid to provide PPE with Regulation 57 of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Will Quince
A due diligence assessment was conducted on PPE Medpro using company and financial information. No grounds for mandatory exclusion under Regulation 57 of the Public Contract Regulations 2015 were found.
Asked by: Angela Rayner (Labour - Ashton-under-Lyne)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether provisions were included in public contracts with PPE Medpro Ltd in accordance with Regulation 73 of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 enabling the contracting authority to terminate the contract where the contract should have been excluded from the procurement procedure.
Answered by Will Quince
The contract entered into with PPE Medpro Ltd for the supply of personal protective equipment contains termination clauses for a material breach and ‘convenience’. The ‘convenience’ clause is a break clause which allows the Department to terminate the contract for any reason.
Asked by: Lord Roberts of Llandudno (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to review the procurement process for personal protective equipment purchased during the COVID-19 pandemic, in particular the contract awarded to PPE Medpro.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government has stated that it will review the response to procurement during the pandemic and learn lessons. PPE Medpro Ltd were awarded its contracts at the height of the pandemic in 2020. The new Procurement Bill will introduce new, transparent arrangements for how procurement should be conducted in an emergency, such as the pandemic. A new system for declaration of ‘when action is necessary to protect life’ will ensure confidence that contracts are let appropriately. These new rules will allow buyers to conduct a rapid informal competition in situations of extreme urgency.
All contracts, including those awarded in exceptional circumstances, are subject to the Department’s contract management operating standards, which include a range of governance requirements.
Asked by: Angela Rayner (Labour - Ashton-under-Lyne)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much revenue the Exchequer received from taxation paid by PPE Medpro Ltd in the 2020-21 tax year.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
The information requested cannot be provided.
HMRC has a legal duty to maintain the confidentiality of taxpayer information and disclosing information to persons outside of HMRC is only allowed in a limited number of circumstances. These are set out in Section 18 of the Commissioners of Revenue and Customs Act 2005.
Asked by: Lord Foulkes of Cumnock (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the Cabinet Office received any declaration of interests by Baroness Mone or Doug Barrowman regarding their links to PPE Medpro during the COVID-19 PPE procurement process.
Answered by Lord True - Leader of the House of Lords and Lord Privy Seal
It would not be appropriate for the Government to comment further while the National Crime Agency investigation is ongoing.
Asked by: Angela Rayner (Labour - Ashton-under-Lyne)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he plans to reply to the letter of 7 January 2022 from the hon. Member for Ashton-under-Lyne regarding PPE Medpro and Baroness Mone.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
We replied to the Rt hon. Member on 27 April 2022.
Asked by: Nick Smith (Labour - Blaenau Gwent)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much his Department has paid to PPE MedPro for the purchase of personal protective equipment; and whether that company has met its contractual obligations for providing adequate personal protective equipment under the contractual terms set by his Department.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The Department paid £202,850,000 to PPE MedPro for the purchase of personal protective equipment. However, we are unable to provide the information requested on contractual obligations as this commercially sensitive.
Asked by: Angela Rayner (Labour - Ashton-under-Lyne)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 1 February 2022 to Question 101748 on PPE Medpro: Baroness Mone, how many suppliers of PPE to which contracts were issued through the high priority lane were rated as (a) red, (b) amber or (c) green in his Department's financial assessment.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
All offers received a rigorous financial, commercial, legal and policy assessment led by officials from various Government departments using a number of different processes to complete due diligence checks. A proportion of the assessments made included a red, amber or green rating. However, as multiple systems were used to record these checks, the information requested is not held centrally and to obtain it would incur disproportionate cost.