Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 12
12
NHST&T relies on contractors for many of its supplies, services and infrastructure.
Conclusion
NHST&T relies on contractors for many of its supplies, services and infrastructure. The Department stated that, to scale up NHST&T so rapidly, it had used a “blended mix” of civil servants, military support, contractors and consultancy support.40 By the end of October 2020, NHST&T had signed 407 contracts worth £7 billion with 217 public and private organisations, of which 121 (or 70% of the contract value) were assigned as direct awards without competition under emergency measures.41 The Department told us that, 30 Qq 45–46 31 Q 46; https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/nhs-test-and-trace-england-statistics-31-december-2020-to- 6-january-2021. The weekly utilisation rate is calculated from the published statistics on available capacity and number of tests processed. 32 C&AG’s Report para 16; https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/nhs-test-and-trace-england-statistics-31- december-2020-to-6-january-2021 33 Qq 128–134 34 Qq 134–143; https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/nhs-test-and-trace-england-statistics-31-december- 2020-to-6-january-2021 35 Qq 38–39 36 Department of Health & Social Care submission point 4 37 Qq 88–89 38 Q 88; C&AG’s Report, para 3.30 39 Q 89; C&AG’s Report para 22, 3.30–32, Figure 22 40 Q 32; C&AG’s Report para 9 41 C&AG’s Report para 9, 1.34 COVID-19: Test, track and trace (part 1) 13 in November and December, it had awarded a further 207 contracts worth £1.3 billion, of which around 30 were direct awards under emergency regulations. It anticipated further reductions in the use of these regulations in favour of competitions and tendering exercises in future.42
Government Response
Acknowledged
HM Government
Acknowledged
3.1 The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Recommendation implemented 3.2 Consultants offer quick access to expertise that may otherwise be difficult to recruit – either quickly or indeed at all. They will always have a place but need to be used selectively. NHST&T has therefore established a consultancy ramp-down plan, based on current demand assumptions, which aims to reduce the number of consultants by over 40% between March 2021 and December 2021. 3.3 NHST&T continues to reduce consultancy headcount through the following mechanisms: • capability mapping and staff development; • increasing recruitment – NHST&T has launched a careers microsite and as of March 2021 had over 154 campaigns live; • replacing consultancy resources with cheaper contract resources while long-term recruitment continues; • a Commercial Challenge Board to provide increased scrutiny when consultancy resource is requested and ensure there is clear evidence that there is no alternative and that rates are appropriate to the work being delivered; • regular challenge sessions with each business area; and • including short term termination clauses in contracts to ensure maximum flexibility and to support the roll-off of consultants. 3.4 NHST&T is currently working across government and with Public Health England (PHE) to understand the most effective ways to attract and secure clinical capability. It is also reaching out to NHS networks to understand better and learn from their supply routes and where NHST&T can improve.