Recommendation 28

We asked the Department how many contracts relating to COVID-19 procurement were still in dispute. The Department stated that 45 contracts were in dispute at 31 March 2023, and that the number at the time of the evidence session was below 20. Most of the contracts under review are not under review due to fraud. Due to the sensitive nature of the issue, the Department said that it was not able to comment on the number of contracts pursued due to fraud, but it committed to hold a private session with the Committee to discuss the matter further.50 Overall level of fraud in PPE purchases was 1.5% of the £13.6 billion, which equated to £202 million.51 The Department considered that there were no new lessons arising from its work on disputed contracts to apply to procurement for future pandemics. The Department committed to reporting to Parliament on the total level of fraud in COVID-19 procurement, which it expected to do in the coming months.52 Overpayments to suspended medical practitioners