Recommendation 12

Consideration of potential conflicts of interest is also relevant to other contracts with testing suppliers. Some suppliers offering testing services were referred to the Department by ministers, MPs or Number 10. The Department marked supplier offers as ‘VIP’ if they had been referred from these sources and the suppliers were given priority status. From May 2020 to March 2021, these priority suppliers received £6 billion of the £7.9 billion of testing contracts awarded during this period.23 The Agency’s view is that there was not a causal association between being a priority supplier and being awarded a contract, because it said every contract went through the same technical validation and commercial processes.24 21 Qq 76, 100–103, 112 22 Report by the Comptroller and Auditor General, Conflicts of interest, Session 2014–15, HC 907, 27 January 2015, paras 1.1–1.7, 3.7–3.8 23 C&AG’s Report, paras 1.10–1.12 24 Qq 93, 95 12 Government’s contracts with Randox Laboratories Ltd 2 Wider procurement issues Scrutiny of the contract