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‘VIP’ lane led to ‘systemic bias’ in UK government COVID contracts
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Date: None
The UK government’s fast-tracking of suppliers recommended by officials and politicians may have led to “systematic and partisan bias” in the awarding of contracts for personal protective equipment (PPE), according to a new report.
Last year, the existence of a high-priority channel to assess potential PPE suppliers referred by government officials, ministers, MPs, peers, senior NHS staff and other health professionals, was revealed by the National Audit Office.
A report by Transparency International UK published today found that knowledge of the VIP lane appeared to be "confined to only those within the party of government in Westminster".
The anti-corruption group said this would have made it likely that “only those with connections to this party and its members would be referred through this route”.
The report criticised the government for prioritising politicians over medical professionals, such as the British Medical Association and the Royal College of Nursing, with expertise in sourcing PPE.
The Cabinet Office said that the high-priority lane was “was widely advertised across government as a way of more quickly triaging offers of support”. A spokesperson told openDemocracy that it did not have a breakdown of how many opposition MPs used it.
The report also found that the UK government has awarded more than £2.1bn worth of COVID contracts to companies politically connected to the Conservative Party.
[1] Url:
https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/opendemocracyuk/vip-lane-led-to-systemic-bias-in-uk-government-covid-contracts/
