The government had a responsibility to apply “basic standards” of procurement checks on PPE during the Covid pandemic, the auditor general will say, after scandals over supply, including that involving the peer Michelle Mone.
Gareth Davies, the head of the National Audit Office, said people accepted that some normal processes needed to be suspended in an emergency, such as lengthy tenders for PPE.
However, in a speech at parliament on Thursday, he will say some essential standards could still be upheld, such as managing conflicts of interest. “When accepting high-risk compromises, government had a responsibility to apply mitigating controls that were available, including better transparency to parliament and the public, rigorous management of conflicts of interest, reducing vulnerability to fraud and timely accounting.
“Maintaining these basic standards is critical to preventing financial losses, and public trust in the government’s emergency responses.”
It comes after the NAO published previous reports finding multiple shortcomings in the way the UK government awarded contracts to deal with the coronavirus pandemic.
The parliamentary spending watchdog first reported in November 2020 that PPE suppliers with political connections were directed to a “high-priority” channel for UK government contracts where bids were 10 times more likely to be successful.
One of these “VIP” lane contracts was referred to the fast track by the Conservative peer Lady Mone, in relation to a company called PPE Medpro. The Guardian revealed that Mone subsequently appeared to receive millions originating from its profits.
Mone is under investigation by the House of Lords commissioners for standards and this week announced she was taking a leave of absence as a peer to clear her name.
Last month, a lawyer for Mone said: “There are a number of reasons why our client cannot comment on these issues and she is under no duty to do so.”
A lawyer who represents both Mone’s husband, Douglas Barrowman, and the company PPE Medpro said at the time that a continuing investigation limited what his clients were able to say on these matters. He added: “For the time being we are also instructed to say that there is much inaccuracy in the portrayal of the alleged ‘facts’ and a number of them are completely wrong.”
Mone has previously stated: “I completely refute these allegations. I was asked to help at a time of national emergency. I declared all necessary interests and have done nothing wrong. I will cooperate fully with any investigation.”
In his speech, Davies will outline lessons that should be learned from the NAO’s reports on the government’s handling of Covid 19.
“From this body of work, I draw three big lessons for public spending in large scale emergencies,” he will say. “Firstly, the importance of maintaining basic standards even in an emergency, and restoring normal controls as soon as possible. Secondly, the central role of good quality data in responding quickly and targeting resources accurately. And thirdly, the need for a new approach to improving the country’s resilience to high impact emergencies, minimising the impact on current and future taxpayers.”
Davies also highlighted the need for the government to extract value from every pound it spends at a time when the government has left us with a “litany of pressing issues to deal with – risky government-backed loans, backlogs, overstretched local services”.
He said the NAO could help those in government making choices about how to spend public money by providing evaluation of past decisions. “With public finances constrained, the government must extract value from every public pound as possible. That requires choosing well and delivering well.”
