Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 28
28
Accepted
Fewer than twenty COVID-19 procurement contracts remain in dispute, with £202 million fraud identified.
Conclusion
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
Government Response Summary
The government agrees, providing updated estimates of COVID-19 PPE fraud at £324 million, with £75 million recovered and £163 million prevented, and anticipates settlement of all matters by Autumn 2025 with a target implementation date for the recommendation of December 2025.
Government Response
Accepted
HM Government
Accepted
5.6 The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Target implementation date: December 2025 5.7 Fraud is a hidden crime and therefore it is impossible to give exact amounts. However, the department’s best estimate is that 2.4% (£324 million of £13.6 billion) of expenditure on PPE was fraudulent. To date, the government has recovered £75 million (including £5 million for ventilators) and assesses a further £163 million was prevented from being lost in the first place. Where criminal conduct is suspected, the matter has been reviewed by the DHSC Anti-Fraud Unit (AFU) and referred to law enforcement partners where appropriate. DHSC will be working closely with the recently announced COVID Counter Fraud Commissioner to maximise recoveries where possible. 5.8 Net costs will not become apparent until all work on dissolution and fraud is complete and monies recovered is understood. As this may involve legal proceedings it is difficult to estimate precisely when this may be, however we anticipate that matters will not be settled before Autumn 2025.