Crown Commercial Service (CCS) failed to sufficiently manage and consider conflicts of interest for the appointment of contractors. Lex Greensill was appointed as senior adviser to government on supply chain finance in November 2011 and continued to provide advice to government until March 2017. In July 2012 he set up a company (Greensill Capital) which subsequently participated in the provision of supply chain finance to government. In November 2017 Greensill Capital emerged as the key subcontractor and financial guarantor to Taulia, which was appointed in March 2018 as the sole supplier to the Supplier Early Payment Solution framework. Greensill Capital facilitated an operational contract to provide private finance into the pharmacy reimbursement process and, therefore, Lex Greensill stood to gain from his relationship with government. CCS has stated that when it first became aware that Greensill Capital had been appointed as subcontractor to Taulia, it did not consider Lex Greensill’s previous engagement with government sufficient grounds under the regulations to reject Taulia’s bid. Ex-senior civil servants with privileged access to government officials by virtue of previous senior roles in the civil service on taking up private sector positions exploited this access. This was the case with Greensill Capital’s staff who provided a credible face when promoting the Earnd salary advance scheme and other Greensill Capital products to NHS leadership – winning over their confidence. Recommendation: The Department and CCS should formalise the process for considering conflicts of interest, to ensure that actual and perceived conflicts of interest are managed appropriately.