Taxpayer value from government contracts
Challenges in ensuring taxpayers gain from government contracts, requiring improved market testing and transparency of KPIs.
Strongest theme matches
Mixed across source types and ranked by classifier confidence plus text match strength.
Committee recommendation
100match
#6 - Seventeenth Report - Government’s contracts with Randox Laboratories Ltd
The Department did not do enough work to determine whether Randox was making excess profits from its contracts with Randox. Randox’s published accounts do not yet cover the entire period of the contracts we considered, but they already show how Randox has substantially increased its profits and expanded its business since the start of the pandemic. Randox reported...
Matched on
terms: contract, government
Committee recommendation
86match
#37 - 1st Report - Rewiring the state: Delivering digital government
The promised cloud consumption dashboard should include not only a breakdown of contract awards by company but their value, details of any break clauses, specific licensing terms and a value for money assessment. The government should require public bodies to publish the value of individual cloud contracts within three months of their being awarded. (Recommendation, Paragraph 109) 55
Matched on
terms: contract, government, value
Committee recommendation
86match
#36 - 1st Report - Rewiring the state: Delivering digital government
The public sector’s dependence on AWS and Microsoft’s cloud products undermines fair competition, fails to deliver value for money, can prevent domestic alternatives from scaling and—when outages occur—exposes a lack of resilience. The government is rightly seeking to coordinate cloud contracting, but this should be done in such a way as to ensure more, not less, competition. (Conclusion,...
Matched on
terms: contract, government, value
Committee recommendation
86match
#19 - Home Office large asylum sites programme suffered poor value for money and significant failures.
In May 2024, the previous Public Accounts Committee reported on the Home Office’s development of alternative asylum accommodation to hotels, including large sites at Scampton and Wethersfield, the Bibby Stockholm vessel, and former student accommodation in Huddersfield. The Committee found that the Home Office’s value for money assessments of the large sites fell short of reality and risked...
Matched on
terms: government, taxpayer, value
Committee recommendation
86match
#18 - Ensure realistic market sale price for Northeye site if government decides to resell it.
The contract for the Northeye acquisition contained conditions that meant that the longer it took the Home Office to complete the purchase beyond a six–week timeframe, the more money it would pay. The National Audit Office reported that despite these terms being questioned by some of the Home Office’s advisers, those leading the purchase felt that the terms...
Matched on
terms: contract, government
Committee recommendation
81match
#31 - 1st Report - An analysis of the asylum system
We questioned the Home Office specifically on how it would use excess profit clauses within its cost-plus hotel contracts. The Home Office accepted that “in general”, cost-plus contracts do not represent good value for the taxpayer and acknowledged the risk that providers could earn higher margins under such models.81 However, when we raised concerns about the obscene profits...
Matched on
terms: contract, taxpayer, value
Committee recommendation
81match
#3 - Fifteenth Report - Improving the prison estate
In 2015, the Ministry failed to protect taxpayers’ interests through its naïve approach to the outsourcing of facilities management services. The Ministry admits that its approach prioritised delivering at speed and achieving predicted £79 million in cost savings at the expense of the quality of the service provided. It outsourced a complex service without fully understanding what it...
Matched on
terms: contract, government, taxpayer
Committee recommendation
81match
#26 - Fourth Report - Defence in Scotland: military shipbuilding
The MOD should set out how it evaluates social value in competitions, how it measures the delivery of social value in the contracts it negotiates, and how it holds contractors accountable to ensure they meet those targets. It should also, as contracts progress, track the delivery of social value and challenge contractors where targets are in danger of...
Matched on
terms: contract, government, value
Committee recommendation
81match
#2 - Set out changes to ensure Home Office investment decisions use comprehensive information and transparent consultation
In its haste to purchase the Northeye site, the Home Office ignored opportunities to properly understand the risks and costs of developing it, leading to poor value for money for the taxpayer. The Home Office asserts it did a “fair amount” of due diligence before acquiring the Northeye 4 site, but the NAO highlighted significant shortcomings. The Home...
Matched on
terms: contract, government, taxpayer, value
Committee recommendation
78match
#39 - 1st Report - Rewiring the state: Delivering digital government
In its response to this report the government should detail how the ‘All of Government’ cloud contract will prevent vendor lock-in. It should set out the engagement it has had with the Competition and Markets Authority on the development of the contract, and how the contract will embed a pro-competition approach to cloud procurement. (Recommendation, Paragraph 111) Barrier...
Matched on
terms: contract, government
Committee recommendation
78match
#3 - 1st Report - Rewiring the state: Delivering digital government
Delivering successful digital transformation will require a new approach to digital and technology spend, underpinned by clear standards, approval processes, and lines of accountability. The current approach to funding, whereby it is easier to secure capital funding than resource, public sector organisations are limited in their ability to secure funds for ‘as a service’ products, and inefficient buying...
Matched on
terms: contract, government
Committee recommendation
78match
#14 - Home Office awarded major accommodation site contracts without full competition, citing urgency.
We asked the Home Office why it had not submitted to competition five of the contracts relating to the new sites, worth £243 million of the £253 million it had spent through contracts. The Home Office told us that it used framework agreements for some 18 Q 159; HM Treasury, Dear Accounting Officer Letter – Parliamentary Communications, 16...
Matched on
terms: contract, government
Committee recommendation
77match
#30 - 1st Report - An analysis of the asylum system
We also asked the Home Office about its approach to commercial incentives. The NAO had reported gaps in current contract performance information and the Home Affairs Committee found that providers faced few performance penalties and, in some cases, had incentives to prioritise higher-cost hotel accommodation. The Home Office said that it had strengthened monitoring of high-value subcontractors, supported...
Matched on
terms: contract, taxpayer, value
NAO recommendation
77match
The government’s approach to test and trace in England – interim report
f) take account to the maximum extent possible of value for money and normal commercial good practice as it procures new infrastructure and services. In particular, it needs to have sufficient flexibility in future contracts to allow government and contractors to respond effectively to changing requirements at reasonable cost; and
Matched on
terms: contract, government, value
Committee recommendation
74match
#54 - 1st Report - Rewiring the state: Delivering digital government
If external suppliers are deemed necessary to support the development or implementation of the new digital ID, no contracts relating to the development or implementation of the new digital ID should be awarded without a competitive tender process, and all contracts should be published in full. The government should announce the decision to use external suppliers to Parliament...
Matched on
terms: contract, government
Committee recommendation
74match
#32 - 1st Report - Rewiring the state: Delivering digital government
In its response to this report the government should set out the reasons for awarding a £240 million Ministry of Defence contract to Palantir without a competitive tender process. (Recommendation, Paragraph 98)
Matched on
terms: contract, government
Committee recommendation
74match
#31 - 1st Report - Rewiring the state: Delivering digital government
The government should commit to wherever possible using UK-owned and UK-based suppliers to develop and implement the NHS Single Patient Record, and to awarding all associated contracts via open and transparent procurement processes. (Recommendation, Paragraph 97)
Matched on
terms: contract, government
Committee recommendation
69match
#20 - Home Office prioritised speed over assurance when acquiring large asylum accommodation sites.
We asked the Home Office why, despite spending large sums of public money on these large sites, many of them did not achieve the expected benefits. It explained that both the previous and current government had strategies to exit hotel accommodation for asylum seekers.63 The Home Office explained that the urgency behind its actions stemmed from a significant...
Matched on
terms: contract, government
NAO recommendation
69match
Investigation into government procurement during the COVID-19 pandemic
Awarding bodies should publish basic information on contracts in a reasonable time, in line with guidance to publish within 90 days of award. Transparency is one of the key controls to mitigate the risks associated with emergency direct awards. Therefore, during these types of situation, it is critical that basic information on contract awards is published as soon...
Matched on
terms: contract, government
Committee recommendation
66match
#33 - 1st Report - Rewiring the state: Delivering digital government
The best way for government to encourage innovation is by procuring it. The government should therefore require central departments and public bodies to spend a defined minimum percentage of their technology procurement budgets on products offered by UK-based and UK-owned start-ups and SMEs by the end of the current Spending Review period, and to publish quarterly updates on...
Matched on
terms: government
Committee recommendation
66match
#5 - 1st Report - Rewiring the state: Delivering digital government
The new Government Digital Service (GDS) should develop and publish a comprehensive framework to evaluate the performance of digital spend, to include a set of metrics against which leaders of departments and public bodies can be held to account. The government should require each department and public body to publish annual progress reports against this framework. (Recommendation, Paragraph...
Matched on
terms: government
Committee recommendation
66match
#4 - 1st Report - Rewiring the state: Delivering digital government
By the end of the current Spending Review period a meaningfully higher percentage of digital and technology spend should come from departmental resource budgets, as opposed to capital budgets, in order to better reflect the reality of modern public service delivery. We suggest a target of 75%, up from an estimated 43–46% in 2021. GDS and the Treasury...
Matched on
terms: government
Committee recommendation
66match
#19 - Home Office contracts for migrant accommodation lack specified penalties for safeguarding failures.
The Home Office told us that health and welfare of migrants was “baked into” the way that it runs the sites and the contracts with suppliers. It said there were clear key performance indicators (KPIs) on accommodation being safe and habitable and that the providers have welfare teams on site. However, the National Audit Office reported that the...
Matched on
terms: contract
Committee recommendation
66match
#15 - Large accommodation sites projected more costly than hotels, challenging value for money claims.
We asked the Home Office whether it was still satisfied that it was getting value for money, given the costs of the accommodation and the fact that capacity was much lower than anticipated. The Home Office’s latest assessment of value for money from January 2024 suggests that, in total, large accommodation sites will cost £46 million more than...
Matched on
terms: value
Committee recommendation
65match
#16 - Fifteenth Report - Improving the prison estate
One of the consequences of the Ministry not understanding its assets prior to letting the contracts was that demand for reactive maintenance work as a result of poor-quality assets or vandalism cost the taxpayer almost £143 million more than expected between 2015–16 and the first half of 2019–20.32 We asked why it had taken HMPPS so long to...
Matched on
terms: contract, taxpayer
Committee recommendation
65match
#15 - Fifteenth Report - Improving the prison estate
Following Carillion’s collapse in January 2018, the Ministry established Gov Facility Services Limited (GFSL), a not-for-profit government company, to assume responsibility for its work.29 The Ministry told us that its contract with Carillion was “a mess” and badly managed.30 It explained that it had known that its contract with Carillion was going “badly wrong” and it had looked...
Matched on
terms: contract, government
Committee recommendation
65match
#4 - Fortieth Report - COVID employment support schemes
HMRC’s decision to close the Taxpayer Protection Taskforce in 2023–24 puts at risk the recovery of taxpayers’ money paid out as a result of error and fraud. In April 2021, HMRC set up the Taxpayer Protection Taskforce as a dedicated team of over 1,000 staff to increase its recovery of overpayments on the COVID-19 employment support schemes and...
Matched on
terms: government, taxpayer
Committee recommendation
65match
#9 - Rwanda migration scheme cancelled after £715 million spent without removals.
In July 2024, the government announced the cancellation of the Migration and Economic Development Partnership with Rwanda (MEDP).21 We noted that nobody had been removed under the scheme, and the Department told us that there were no flights under the scheme other than for four voluntary 12 Q 4 13 Qq 4, 6 14 C&AG’s Report, para 1.3...
Matched on
terms: contract, government
NAO recommendation
64match
Improving the performance of major equipment contracts
c) The Department should be prepared to penalise suppliers for past poor performance when letting new contracts. While the Department is doing more to improve working relationships with suppliers, there remains the challenge of what to do if suppliers fail to deliver. In the government green paper on procurement it is proposing to make it easier to exclude...
Matched on
terms: contract, government
Committee recommendation
62match
#45 - 1st Report - Rewiring the state: Delivering digital government
The government should use its promised update to the Procurement Act 2023 to require public sector bodies to prioritise open-source tools and technology over proprietary offerings, to support innovative alternatives to incumbent suppliers and reduce the risk of vendor lock-in. (Recommendation, Paragraph 126)
Matched on
terms: government
Committee recommendation
62match
#44 - 1st Report - Rewiring the state: Delivering digital government
Building sovereign alternatives to US tech providers will require targeted support for start-ups in strategic sectors; a robust approach to competition policy that does not shy away from confrontation with incumbent firms but instead supports the development of a diverse ecosystem of providers; and establishing technology and digital procurement targets that build a more diverse and competitive landscape....
Matched on
terms: government
Committee recommendation
62match
#34 - 1st Report - Rewiring the state: Delivering digital government
We believe that vendor lock-in should not be viewed as inevitable, and that dependence on a small number of suppliers does not automatically lead to better delivery of public services or better use of public money. (Conclusion, Paragraph 106)
Matched on
terms: government
Committee recommendation
62match
#26 - 1st Report - Rewiring the state: Delivering digital government
In its response to this report the government should set out how it intends to ensure that the public sector makes better use of the services provided by Crown Hosting. (Recommendation, Paragraph 81) Barrier three: Vendor lock-in
Matched on
terms: government
Committee recommendation
62match
#17 - Home Office lacked oversight of contracted property staff, incurring additional Northeye costs.
In April 2021, the Home Office contracted staff who had previously worked under the Ministry of Justice’s property function to provide in-house expertise in commercial property transactions. From August 2022, the contracted staff managed the acquisition of the Home Office’s interests in the Northeye site.49 The National Audit Office reported that the Home Office did not put in...
Matched on
terms: contract
Committee recommendation
57match
#28 - 1st Report - An analysis of the asylum system
The NAO, Public Accounts Committee and Home Affairs Select Committee have each identified longstanding weaknesses in how the Home Office manages its asylum accommodation contracts. The NAO’s May 2025 briefing found that projected spending under the asylum accommodation and support contracts had risen from £4.5 billion to £15.3 billion, and highlighted that hotels accounted for 76% of annual...
Matched on
terms: contract
Committee recommendation
57match
#6 - 1st Report - An analysis of the asylum system
The Home Office has not demonstrated it has the commercial capabilities needed to manage asylum accommodation effectively. Managing asylum accommodation at scale requires strong in-house commercial expertise to oversee complex contracts, manage risks, and monitor provider performance. However, both the previous Public Accounts Committee and the Home Affairs Committee have repeatedly identified significant weaknesses in the Home Office’s...
Matched on
terms: contract
Committee recommendation
57match
#6 - Set out use of additional £110 million funding for counter-fraud to reduce overpayments.
Excluding State Pension, £9.5 billion of benefit expenditure was overpaid in 2023–24 and DWP did not achieve its savings target from Targeted Case Reviews. Excluding State Pension, DWP estimates that it overpaid a total of 6.7% (£9.5 billion) in 2023–24, up from 6.6% (£8.2 billion) in 2022–23, meaning many claimants received more money than they were entitled to....
Matched on
terms: government
IMB recommendation
56match
Bristol (2025)
Are there plans to review the lengths of contract given to prison food providers that would allow for more flexibility in securing best value and quality, and thereby better use of the public purse?
Matched on
terms: contract, value
NAO recommendation
56match
Whole of Government Accounts 2017-18
As recommended previously, the Treasury should examine how it can: • provide more granular information on government spending, particularly around the purchase of goods and services • explain the sensitivity of the value of significant assets to changes in assumptions in the way it does for significant liabilities.
Matched on
terms: government, value
IMB recommendation
55match
Whitemoor (2021)
Will the prison service please review its approach to securing value for money in contracts for building works? Yet again a refurbishment project (this time of the main kitchen at Whitemoor) has been delayed by sub-contractors passing work from company to company until the job reached a firm whose staff did not have the necessary security clearance; the...
Matched on
terms: contract, value
Committee recommendation
53match
#39 - 6th Report - Forced Labour in UK Supply Chains
Taxpayers are entitled to expect public money to be used carefully and responsibly. (Conclusion, Paragraph 210)
Matched on
terms: taxpayer
Committee recommendation
53match
#17 - 1st Report - Investing in the UK economy
We recommend that the Government use the Procurement Act 2023 to trigger a transformation of culture across Government in supporting UK business in general and High Growth Firms in particular. This is particularly important for the Ministry of Defence and the Department for Health and Social Care because their spending power is so significant. (Recommendation, Paragraph 67)
Matched on
terms: government
Committee recommendation
53match
#29 - 1st Report - An analysis of the asylum system
The Home Office set out actions it is taking to strengthen its commercial capability and contract-management arrangements. It confirmed it was “considering the options available” for exercising break clauses and renegotiating contracts, and stated that it had “clawed back £46 million of excess profit” from providers in the previous year.75 It also said it had commissioned an independent...
Matched on
terms: contract
Committee recommendation
53match
#14 - Sixth Report - Mineworkers’ Pension Scheme
Whilst we have called for the 50:50 split to be replaced with a more appropriate arrangement moving forward, we believe pensioners should also receive a more immediate uplift. We recommend that the Government hands the £1.2bn it is due to receive from the Investment Reserve back to miners, and sets out its proposals for how and when this...
Matched on
terms: government
Committee recommendation
53match
#5 - Fortieth Report - COVID employment support schemes
We are concerned that in the absence of effective criminal and civil sanctions there is little incentive for those who overclaimed COVID-19 employment support to make repayments. Despite the billions of pounds lost in error and fraud, HMRC has taken little action to punish culprits. It asserts that it limits its criminal investigations to the most serious cases...
Matched on
terms: value
Committee recommendation
53match
#29 - DWP overpaid £9.5 billion in benefits, with fraud accounting for the majority of overpayments.
Excluding State Pension, DWP estimates that it overpaid a total of 6.7% (£9.5 billion) of benefit expenditure in 2023–24, up from 6.6% (£8.2 billion) in 2022–23.58 Fraud—where DWP considers that a claimant should reasonably have been aware that they were receiving money they were not entitled to—accounted for most of the overpayments (£7.3 billion).59 Two–thirds of all overpayments...
Matched on
terms: value
Committee recommendation
53match
#21 - Home Office culture normalised emergency operations, weakening approval processes for asylum accommodation sites.
We were concerned about a prevailing culture within the Home Office that normalises operating in an emergency and led it to weaken approval processes when acquiring large sites like Northeye. Moreover, it has often appeared that the Home Office has prioritised appearing to address the issue of asylum accommodation over value for money and the effective implementation of...
Matched on
terms: value
Committee recommendation
53match
#8 - Home Office spent millions on multiple abandoned or problematic large asylum sites.
In 2023, the Home Office was acquiring several large asylum accommodation sites at the same time, including the Bibby Stokholm vessel in Dorset and the former RAF base in Scampton, Lincolnshire.16 The Home Office has spent more than £34 million on the Bibby Stockholm vessel, which will be not be used after January 2025.17 In April 2024, the...
Matched on
terms: value
NAO recommendation
51match
Managing tax debt through the pandemic
HMRC needs to improve its understanding of customers to be able to support them and target activity appropriately. HMRC should do the following: f) Use a wider range of data to better understand how taxpayers’ financial positions have changed as a result of the pandemic. HMRC holds a rich source of data from taxes, but some lags significantly...
Matched on
terms: government, taxpayer
IMB recommendation
48match
Brinsford (2023)
The New heating system has many flaws, caused by an inadequate contract between suppliers & fitters and the MOJ. It has cost further thousands of pounds onto the original cost, all paid for by the public purse.
Matched on
terms: contract