Recommendation 7

The Department failed to record in its own published transparency releases that Randox had attended four meetings on testing with ministers in 2020, although it did declare four other meetings involving ministers and Randox. Minutes or records of discussions were kept for two of these meetings.10 The Ministerial Code requires departments to publish details of ministers’ meetings with external organisations on a quarterly basis.11 However, details of some ministerial meetings with Randox emerged only because documents relating to Randox’s contracts were requested by MPs through the ‘Humble Address’ process and published in February 2022. The documents released included private emails and WhatsApp messages between ministers and Randox’s representatives that were not saved in the Department’s information systems at the time. The Information Commissioner has investigated the use of private correspondence channels at the Department, concluding in a July 2022 report that there were failings in the Department’s compliance with transparency obligations.12 The Department admitted to us that the omissions in recording and reporting ministerial meetings were “a straight error”. Its explanation was that transparency returns are completed by ministers’ private offices, and staff working in those offices had faced significant workload pressures at that time.13