A total, constipated silence from the NHS and ministers shrouds the long-delayed new “mega lab” that was supposed to have opened in Leamington Spa last January as part of the … Read more
commissioning
The High Court has heard how the NatWest suspended Matt Hancock’s team from making payments to PPE suppliers at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic over fears they were being … Read more
The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has paid out more than £38 million after reneging on a pre-contract arrangement with a provider of COVID-19 testing services. An NHS … Read more
The government has been urged to publish details of up to £2bn in Covid-19 contracts to provide extra capacity during the pandemic awarded to private healthcare companies, including some that have … Read more
Guidance recently issued by NHS England could lead to entire networks of diagnostic imaging services being run by the private sector. NHS trusts have until 2023 to set up separate entities to … Read more
Research carried out by the Labour Party shows that more than £96bn of health service funding has gone to non-NHS providers of care over the last decade, with the amount … Read more
A growing list of NHS leaders have joined Matt Hancock, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, as components in the lobbying scandal that has engulfed the government … Read more
A report by Transparency International UK said a “seriously flawed” arrangement, whereby companies bidding for contracts were prioritised if they were referred into a “VIP lane” by their political connections, … Read more
Spire Healthcare has stated that it is “cautiously optimistic” that trading and profits will bounce back to 2019 levels after reporting income down by 6.2% to £920m during 2020, not least because … Read more
Sir David King, a former government chief scientist, in an interview in The Guardian has accused Boris Johnson’s government of corruption, privatising the NHS by stealth, operating a “chumocracy” and … Read more
Hinpack, which is owned by Alex Bourne, an acquaintance of Matt Hancock and the former landlord of his local pub, which won a contract to produce Covid test vials for the NHS is … Read more
A high court judge has ruled that the health secretary, Matt Hancock, acted unlawfully by failing to publish multibillion-pound Covid-19 government contracts within the 30-day period required by law. The judge, … Read more
Transparency in public office is essential to any democracy, but the UK government’s aversion to scrutiny of its procurement track record during the pandemic – an aversion now the focus … Read more
A leaked version of the new NHS White Paper has confirmed the government’s plan to remove the much criticised competition rules, which allow commercial companies to bid for a vast array of … Read more
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
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
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
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
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
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
