Tories rip up proposed protections in the trade bill
MPs have rejected key amendments to the Trade Bill made by the House of Lords that campaigners say would offer important protection to the NHS. At the same time MPs … Read more
Adviser behind bungled £250m mask contract hides earnings
The Times reports that Andrew Mills, a former government adviser who brokered the bungled £250 million PPE contract with Ayanda Capital, has used an obscure change in company status to … Read more
Test & Trace Paying Nearly A Million Pounds A Day To Deloitte
The government’s test and trace system run by Tory peer Dido Harding is paying nearly a million pounds every day to the private consultancy firm Deloitte. David Williams, the department of … Read more
Private hospital group backs out of Covid deal to treat NHS patients
Claims by Matt Hancock, Simon Stevens and other senior figures from NHS England that the private hospital sector should be regarded as a permanent “partner” of the NHS after the block booking … Read more
“It’s vital megalabs have an appropriate skill mix” – IBMS
The professional body representing laboratory staff, the Institute of Biomedical Science (IBMS), has expressed concerns over the plans – revealed to trade unions by Dido Harding – for the first of … Read more
PPE Medpro wins £200m of PPE contracts via ‘high-priority lane’
The Guardian reveals that PPE Medpro, a company with mystery investors and links to the Isle of Man, was awarded government contracts worth £200m to supply the UK with personal … Read more
New York Times: Waste, Negligence and Cronyism
The New York Times analysis of the British government’s spending on PPE, ventilators, coronavirus tests and other supplies critical to containing the surge in virus infections, has found that the … Read more
Uniserve given almost £800m of Covid contracts without tender
The British logistics company, Uniserve, was awarded Covid-19-related contracts worth around £800m in 2020, all of which were awarded without an open tender. This makes the company the largest recipient … Read more
Serco’s test and trace relying on inexperienced and poorly trained staff
A Guardian investigation has found that England’s test and trace service is being sub-contracted to a myriad of private companies employing inexperienced contact tracers under pressure to meet targets. Serco, … Read more
US firm could take over from “outstanding” Notts GP practice
Almost 11,000 patients at a GP practice in central Nottingham, many of them vulnerable, face disruption to their services and potential reductions in care as Nottingham and Nottinghamshire CCG/ICS imposes … Read more
Private hospitals celebrate closer ties with NHS
The extent to which NHS England now sees the future in a permanent alliance with private hospital chains was underlined in October by NHS England chief executive Sir Simon Stevens taking time … Read more
Government refuses to say who benefited from ‘high-priority’ channel for contract awards
The government has refused to publish a list of companies that benefited from being put in the ‘high-priority’ lane for Covid-19 contract work. It has also refused to reveal who … Read more
NAO reports highlight cronyism and bad process in Covid contract tendering
The National Audit Office (NAO) has investigated the process surrounding the awarding of contracts for services and supplies related to the Covid-19 pandemic. In November 2020, the NAO published two … Read more
Test and trace has barely improved since it began
The Guardian reports that the government’s £22bn test-and-trace system has failed to reach more than 100,000 people exposed to coronavirus in England’s worst-hit areas since the second wave began with … Read more
NAO report says UK’s ‘chaotic’ PPE buying cost billions extra
A report from the National Audit Office (NAO) has found that the government spent £10bn more buying personal protective equipment in “chaotic” and inflated market conditions during the pandemic than … Read more
Hinchingbrooke staff celebrate as outsourcing plan dropped
A determined fight by 72 in-house support staff at Hinchingbrooke Hospital has successfully fought off plans by North West Anglia NHS Foundation Trust to outsource the services without even submitting … Read more
NHS lab network undergoes rapid private expansion amid performance issues
Last week’s announcement by Matt Hancock of an expansion of the government’s ‘mega lab’ Lighthouse project – set up earlier this year by the Department of Health & Social Care (DHSC) to … Read more
More trouble with NHS contracts and outsourcing
It seems that not a day goes past without a new revelation of wrongdoing or bad practice in the process of signing contracts with the private sector, this includes sub-standard … Read more
Tory Steve Dechan’s £276m in PPE contracts buys him country manor
Steve Dechan, a former Conservative councillor, who was awarded £276m in government contracts for personal protective equipment (PPE), has traded his modest home for a £1.5m, 17th-century Cotswolds mansion with … Read more
NAO report reveals PPE suppliers with political ties given ‘high-priority’ status
A report from the National Audit Office has found that supplier of PPE suppliers with political connections were directed to a “high-priority” channel for UK government contracts where bids were … Read more
