Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 12
12
The NAO reported that of the 176 contracts in dispute, most of these were still...
Conclusion
The NAO reported that of the 176 contracts in dispute, most of these were still in the early stages of being resolved. Eighty-three of the 176 contracts are still in the first stage of the commercial resolution process with a further 59 having entered formal commercial discussions. At present, no cases have moved into the litigation stage of the commercial dispute process.30 Despite this, the Department denied that there is a logjam in resolving these cases and said that there was a team dedicated to resolving these disputes within the Department. Much of the work of that team revolves around checking that the PPE provided meets the technical specifications to then be released into the health and social care sectors.31 That team is also expected to draw on the experience within the Department’s commercial function, as well as government’s wider commercial expertise, where relevant.32 Although it was reluctant to go into specifics on commercial negotiations the Department said it was confident that it was making good progress against its quarterly targets for resolving these cases.33 The NAO, however, has reported that the Department is forecasting that 35% of these cases will not be resolved until 2023.34
Government Response
Not Addressed
HM Government
Not Addressed
3: PAC conclusion: The Department remains in dispute on 176 contracts for PPE with £2.7 billion of taxpayer money at risk and has made little progress in tackling potential fraudulent supplies of goods. 3a: PAC recommendation: The Department should explain in its Treasury Minute response to the Committee its progress in resolving these cases and provide as full an update as is possible on the status of those negotiations. 3.1 The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation Target implementation date: August 2023 3.2 Much of this information is commercially sensitive and could impact the department’s ability to successfully pursue cases to completion. Therefore, the department will provide a summary update on the progress of negotiations as a whole in confidence to the Committee. 3.3 Through Treasury Minute 6 published in August 2022, the department already committed to providing regular updates on progress as part of the quarterly reporting cycle. The first update on progress was provided to the Committee in August as part of the Q4 report and included information about the amount that has been reclaimed against the ‘value at risk’. 3.4 The department has established a Dissolution Team to work through the contracts in dispute to maximise the value obtained from taxpayer’s money. The Dissolution Team has been commissioned until March 2023 with quarterly targets to achieve resolution of contractual matters.