16 Accepted

In responding to the COVID-19 pandemic, government departments and public bodies have needed to procure...

Recommendation
In responding to the COVID-19 pandemic, government departments and public bodies have needed to procure enormous volumes of goods, services and works with extreme urgency. Our report on Government procurement and supply of PPE found that, by the end of July 2020, government had awarded over 8,000 contracts for goods and services in response to the pandemic, with a value of £18 billion. The Department and its national bodies awarded 86% of the contracts. We were concerned, however, that government’s response to the need to procure very quickly opened up significant procurement risks.35 Whilst the government is permitted under 2015 regulations to award contracts without tendering in emergency circumstances, this ability to bypass the normal rules should always be accompanied by transparency, as it is taxpayers who will foot the bill.36
Government Response Summary
The government accepts the recommendation for transparency, committing DHSC to provide the committee with data on unpublished COVID-19 contracts and Cabinet Office to direct departments to publish post-project evaluations for major pandemic response programmes by November 2021.
Government Response
Accepted
HM Government Accepted
3.1 The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Target implementation date: November 2021 3.2 DHSC will write to the Committee, as directed, on the number of contracts awarded during the COVID-19 pandemic that are yet to be published. 3.3 The Cabinet Office will write to departmental SROs who lead on each of the main pandemic response programmes, setting out the expectation that each department should publish post-project evaluations within a reasonable timeframe after each project’s conclusion and they should include an assessment of the extent to which the projects have met their objectives. Cabinet Office will request updates from lead departments on when they expect to be in a position to finalise the post-project evaluations.
Source
Committee Public Accounts Committee
Inquiry Initial lessons from the government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic
Report Thirteenth Report - Initial lessons from the government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic 25 Jul 2021 HC 175
View on Parliament website
Addressee Bodies
HM Treasury
Timeline
Recommendation age 5.0 yrs
Report published 25 Jul 2021