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, what systems his Department used to record the results of the due diligence checks on suppliers of PPE during the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
The results of due diligence were recorded by several Government departments, including the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, the Cabinet Office and the Ministry of Defence. In the absence of a single, integrated system, financial due diligence on suppliers was recorded locally using bespoke systems and processes, such as Microsoft Office applications, Atamis, Mendix and Defence Share.
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, with reference to the Answer of 20 April 2022 to Question 122676 on Protective Clothing: Contracts, what systems the Government used to record the results of the due diligence checks on suppliers of PPE during the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The results were recorded by several Government departments, including the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, the Cabinet Office and the Ministry of Defence. In the absence of a single, integrated system, financial due diligence was recorded locally using bespoke systems and processes, such as Microsoft Office applications, Atamis, Mendix and Defence Share.
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, with reference to the Answer of 27 April 2022 to Question 157380 on Protective Clothing: Contracts, on how many contracts for the supply of personal protective equipment did Supply Chain Coordination Limited carry out international price benchmarking since October 2020.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
Throughout the pandemic, Supply Chain Coordination Limited has used set framework agreement prices as its benchmark for all purchases of personal protective equipment.
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, what the cost to his Department has been of legal advice given to resolve contractual disputes in regard to personal protective equipment contracts, in particular the cost of (a) external legal advice and (b) consultants.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
In 2021/22, the costs of external legal advice to support the personal protective equipment (PPE) programme was £2.5 million, which includes advice relating to the resolution of disputed contracts. This excludes the cost of advice provided by the Government Legal Department. The cost of consultants employed in the PPE programme was £15.2 million, including the costs associated with the resolution of disputed contracts.
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 20 April 2022 to Question 122676, on Protective Clothing: Contracts, what systems were used to record the results of the due diligence checks on suppliers of PPE during the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The results of due diligence were recorded by several Government departments, including the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, the Cabinet Office and the Ministry of Defence. In the absence of a single, integrated system, financial due diligence on suppliers was recorded locally using bespoke systems and processes, such as Microsoft Office applications, Atamis, Mendix and Defence Share.
Asked by: Joanna Cherry (Scottish National Party - Edinburgh South West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the report published by the National Audit Office entitled Investigation into the management of PPE contracts, published on 30 March 2022, what steps were taken to corroborate the legitimacy of (a) certification paper work and (b) factory credentials and product and process certificates when offering contracts to organisations for the supply of personal protective equipment.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
Asked by: Joanna Cherry (Scottish National Party - Edinburgh South West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the report published by the National Audit Office on 30 March 2022 on their investigation into the management of PPE contracts, whether the Government (a) consulted with or (b) made use of any third-party organisations who have experience in detecting fraud or identifying fake or counterfeit products.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
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 20 April 2022 to Question 122676, what systems were used to record the results of the due diligence checks on suppliers of PPE during the covid-19 pandemic.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
Asked by: Joanna Cherry (Scottish National Party - Edinburgh South West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the report published by the National Audit Office on 30 March 2022 on their investigation into the management of PPE contracts, what measures were put in place to check the background of companies and their ability to deliver PPE items.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
All offers received a rigorous financial, commercial, legal and policy assessment, led by officials in various Government departments. The final decision on whether to enter a contract was made by the appropriate Accounting Officer in the Department. Due diligence checks on offers of personal protective equipment were performed by the PPE Cell, the Cabinet Office and the Ministry of Defence which confirmed United Kingdom supplier financial accounts information; company health checks such as profitability, financial ratios and supplier information; international supplier accounts; and serious organised crime footprints.
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 20 April 2022 to Question 122676, on Protective Clothing: Contracts, whether his Department holds data on what proportion of assessments made included a traffic-light rating of the potential supplier.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The information requested is not held centrally. All offers received a rigorous financial, commercial, legal and policy assessment led by officials in 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 proportion of assessments where a traffic-light rating was given is not held.