Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 13
13
CCS stated that in terms of procurement regulations, there was no reason to preclude Taulia...
Conclusion
CCS stated that in terms of procurement regulations, there was no reason to preclude Taulia based on Greensill Capital being a subcontractor named in their bid. CCS also told us that based on submissions received from the various bidding companies, its assessment was that there was no conflict in relation to the procurement itself and, therefore, it carried on with the procurement. CCS also confirmed that Taulia had failed on one particular question during the procurement process. CCS highlighted that it took legal advice from both the Government Legal Department and counsel and both confirmed that CCS could proceed with the procurement.14
Government Response
Acknowledged
HM Government
Acknowledged
2: PAC conclusion: Crown Commercial Service (CCS) failed to sufficiently manage and consider conflicts of interest for the appointment of contractors. 2: PAC recommendation: The Department and CCS should formalise the process for considering conflicts of interest, to ensure that actual and perceived conflicts of interest are managed appropriately. 2.1 The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Recommendation implemented 2.2 In 2020, the National Audit Office and the Boardman Review recommended that additional, practical guidance be made available for all in-scope organisations regarding the management of conflicts of interest in commercial environments. As a result, on 20 May 2021, the Cabinet Office published Procurement Policy Notice (PPN) 04/2021 covering the issue of conflicts of interest in awarding contracts and interpretation of the relevant exclusion provisions where contractors commit certain breaches. 2.3 The Crown Commercial Service (CCS) ensures that their framework procurement process considers conflicts of interest and has recently carried out checks to ensure that each stage of it fully complies with PPN 04/2021; this includes updating the templates it uses as part of the framework procurement evaluation process. This is to ensure contemporaneous confirmation is explicitly sought and captured that CCS teams and other interested parties in the procurement have considered and declared any perceived or actual conflicts of interest. 2.4 The Department of Health and Social Care (the department) has completed its implementation of the PPN 04/2021. It has introduced a clear process to ensure that conflicts of interest are considered at appropriate stages of the procurement lifecycle, which includes a review of the declaration forms in line with the PPN. 2.5 As part of the annual contract management assurance process for 2022-23, the department will ensure that all of its contract managers (officials) routinely complete a conflicts of interest declaration during their involvement in managing contracts. All contractors working for the department are required to complete the conflicts of interest form.