We recognise that in the circumstances of a global pandemic the Government need to be able to act swiftly and decisively, and that financial control provisions may need to be relaxed proportionate to the need for the Government to take bold actions to reduce, resolve and mitigate the threats we face. However, we know full well that the
Government’s record on proper and transparent procurement processes, and on securing value for money on public spending for emergency purposes, has been shameful.
The Times estimates that during the crisis £1.5 billion of taxpayers’ cash has been given to companies linked to the Conservative party with no prior experience of supplying the Government, from failed tracing apps to useless PPE to insufficient provision for disadvantaged children. Analysis by Labour shows that the Government have made the wrong decisions time and time again throughout the crisis.
That is exactly the story of Tory waste, negligence and cronyism, but the Tories want a pat on the back for spending over £700 million on coveralls, despite NHS records showing only 500,000 out of 13 million were actually used. In April, £16 million-worth of antibody tests were sourced from two Chinese firms. Two million units were purchased, but the test did not work. A PPE contract worth £108 million was handed to a pest control company, PestFix, which has just 16 members of staff. Some of the masks failed checks by the Health and Safety Executive and emails obtained by the BBC suggest that the HSE came under political pressure to ensure that PestFix’s PPE passed necessary quality assurance tests.
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Many companies, often better qualified to produce PPE, but lacking political connections, were completely shut out. One such example is Multibrands International based in my constituency. It is a British manufacturer that had already been producing PPE for China. Its owner, Rizwana Hussain, spent months trying to reach Government officials through public channels, but because she did not have the Health Secretary’s WhatsApp number and she was not on a VIP list, Rizwana and Multibrands International lost out. Let us not forget the £108 million for Serco for contact tracing and the £84 million for Sitel. Those services were never fit for purpose, forcing local authorities to take matters into their own hands.
Just yesterday, the National Audit Office released a scathing report on Test and Trace, saying that it was unclear whether its specific contribution to reducing infection levels as opposed to other measures introduced to tackle the pandemic has justified its costs. Time and again, this Government have failed struggling families during the pandemic. Again, businesses, small and large—despite their struggles—charitable organisations and community groups in my constituency did the Government’s job and worked tirelessly to provide free school meals to children across the Bradford district.
The simple story is this: the Government had millions to hand wastefully to their friends, but for those who worked day and night on hospital wards a pay cut and a clap are all they get. This must never happen again. Labour has tabled an amendment and will press it to a vote later today so that we can improve transparency of emergency spending from the contingency fund. Never again can we let such Tory waste, negligence and cronyism take place.