Public Procurement: Value for Money

Joe Powell, Kirith Entwistle, and Sonia Kumar, all Labour MPs, asked the Government what steps it is taking with Cabinet colleagues to ensure value for money in public procurement. The Parliamentary Secretary, Cabinet Office, Georgia Gould, responded that the Government believes public procurement is a key lever for delivering their missions and enabling better public services. She stated that their "ambitious programme to make work pay" will drive genuine value for money in procurement, supporting organisations to create local jobs, skills, and wealth. Gould also mentioned that the new digital centre of Government will ensure procurement drives the uptake of new digital technologies to improve public services. In a follow-up, Joe Powell asked what steps the Government will take to increase the ambition in implementing the Procurement Act 2023, to ensure they have the data, skills, and digital tools to drive more mission-driven and economically transformative commissioning and purchasing across the Government. Gould reiterated that public procurement is a key lever for delivering improved standards in business and achieving social value, and that the Government's plan to make work pay sets out an ambitious programme to value organisations that create local jobs, skills, and wealth. Kirith Entwistle asked the Minister to reassure him and his constituents in Bolton North East that contracts will be awarded based on what is most cost-effective and better for the public purse, rather than crony relationships. Gould responded that the Government has launched a fraud commissioner to learn lessons from the past, and that the new digital centre of Government will ensure procurement is used effectively to drive the uptake of new digital technologies and protect against the issues seen previously. Sonia Kumar, an NHS physiotherapist who worked during the COVID-19 pandemic, expressed concern about the waste of resources due to crony contracts, and asked the Minister to outline the tangible steps the Government is taking to avoid such waste in the future. Gould acknowledged the issues with personal protective equipment contracts during the pandemic, and stated that the Government is determined to learn those lessons and safeguard every pound of taxpayers' money, working with the Public Sector Fraud Authority to drive down fraud across Government.