Covid-19 Pandemic: Cost to Public Purse of Public Procurement Fraud

Luke Murphy (Basingstoke) (Lab) and Ben Coleman (Chelsea and Fulham) (Lab) asked the Parliamentary Secretary, Cabinet Office (Georgia Gould) about the Government's recent estimate of the cost to the public purse of fraud in public procurement during the COVID-19 pandemic. In her response, the Parliamentary Secretary acknowledged that the previous Government had allowed "waste and fraud to spiral out of control," with the latest estimates showing £10.5 billion of estimated fraud and error in the COVID-19 schemes. She stated that this waste of taxpayers' money is unacceptable, and the new Government is taking action, including the appointment of a new COVID counter-fraud commissioner who will use every means possible to recoup public money. Luke Murphy welcomed the new measures and emphasized the need to recover the money quickly and ensure that such a situation never happens again. He asked what specific steps the Government and the Department will take to achieve this. The Parliamentary Secretary reiterated the commitment to strengthening the counter-fraud approach across the Government, with the counter-fraud commissioner reporting directly to the Chancellor to support the work of the Public Sector Fraud Authority. Ben Coleman raised a specific concern about a supplier being awarded contracts worth more than £25 million for "useless PPE" after being put forward by a former Minister in the VIP lane. He asked the Minister to provide more details on how the Public Sector Fraud Authority and the Treasury will ensure that every penny that can be returned is returned to the public purse. The Parliamentary Secretary acknowledged the specific example and stated that she would be happy to meet with the MP to discuss it further. She reaffirmed the Government's commitment to using every lever available to get back what is owed to the British people, with the Public Sector Fraud Authority working closely with the Treasury on the role of the counter-fraud commissioner.