Seventeenth Report - Government’s contracts with Randox Laboratories Ltd

The Department has strengthened reporting and quality assurance processes, including PPS and ministerial clearance for each entry, and has updated the register of ministerial meetings.

The government published guidance for Ministerial involvement in commercial activity and the contracting process in July 2022, outlining the expected role and involvement of Ministers.

The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation and states that DHSC Commercial Policy outlines best practice methodology and processes which applies to all procurements and contracts, irrespective of the circumstances, and all contracts are subject to DHSC’s contract management operating standards.

The Government Commercial Function has published the The Sourcing Playbook which sets out the key commercial principles that underpin commercial activity across Government and provides commercial, finance, project delivery, policy and other professionals with comprehensive guidelines, rules and principles that will help them to get more projects right from the start.

The department has undertaken a review of historic ministerial diaries and updated the register where necessary, strengthened reporting and quality assurance processes, and reinforced transparency requirements across ministerial private offices.

The department has written to the Committee on 31 October 2022 with the details requested by the Committee, regarding how its commercial refresh will bring record-keeping up to standard.

The government recognizes that the experience of COVID-19 shows it could be better at ensuring consistency in the management of conflicts of interest, and it updated commercial guidance in May 2021. The department has completed its implementation of this PPN, having introduced a clear process to ensure that conflicts of interest are considered at appropriate stages of the procurement lifecycle, including a review of the declaration forms in line with the PPN.

The Department has written to the Committee on 31 October 2022 setting out its response regarding information on declared private interests and how it was used to identify potential conflicts of interest in its procurement decisions.

The government has strengthened its approach to ensure that conflicts of interest are not just documented, but also communicated and acted on by those awarding contracts, updating commercial guidance and introducing clear processes, and the Procurement Bill continues to place legal duties on contracting authorities.

The department has written to the Committee on 31 October 2022 with the details requested by the Committee regarding when and how its commercial refresh will bring record-keeping up to standard.

The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation and states that DHSC Commercial Policy outlines best practice methodology and processes which applies to all procurements and contracts, irrespective of the circumstances, and all contracts are subject to DHSC’s contract management operating standards.

The DHSC outlines best practice methodology and processes which applies to all procurements and contracts, irrespective of the circumstances, including setting performance indicators and using these to hold providers to account via ongoing monitoring and reporting of KPIs.

The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. The department has written to the Committee on 31 October 2022 setting out its response as requested. Companies may be excluded from bidding for government contracts where a conflict cannot be effectively.

The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation to strengthen its transparency processes and ensure that it enforces requirements and takes action where they are not followed. They have undertaken a review of historic ministerial diaries and has, where necessary, updated the register, strengthened reporting and quality assurance processes, and minutes are taken for all meetings with external parties and are centrally held.

The department has written to the Committee on 31 October 2022 with the details requested by the Committee, regarding details of when and how its commercial refresh will bring record-keeping up to standard and ensure that this is the case under all circumstances.

The Government Commercial Function published guidance for Ministerial involvement in commercial activity and the contracting process in July 2022, clarifying the role of ministers in procurement processes, including contract discussions and approvals.

The Government Commercial Function has published the The Sourcing Playbook which sets out the key commercial principles that underpin commercial activity across Government and provides commercial, finance, project delivery, policy and other professionals with comprehensive guidelines, rules and principles that will help them to get more projects right from the start.

The Government Commercial Function has published the The Sourcing Playbook which sets out the key commercial principles that underpin commercial activity across Government and provides commercial, finance, project delivery, policy and other professionals with comprehensive guidelines, rules and principles that will help them to get more projects right from the start.