Labour requires Covid contract transparency
The Labour Party is calling on the government to publish all communications between ministers as well as their business contacts or links who have been awarded contracts within the pandemic under emergency procurement measures put in place in March 2021.
Labour’s Shadow Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Rachel Reeves has written to Michael Gove in regards to the recent revelations all around the government’s VIP fast lane, showing officials were ‘drowning’ in high priority requests with no correct certification or due diligence.
The opposition party states that the VIP fast lane has been a hallmark of the government’s ‘contract cronyism’ and ‘sleaze’ unfolding during the last year, with evidence showing that companies were 10 times more likely to win contracts with the fast lane after tip offs from MPs and ministers.
Despite Labour raising the issue seven times with government, the entire process of the VIP fast lane has still not been published, nor the names of companies awarded contracts through this mechanism.
Reeves said: “Underneath the increasing spread of Tory sleaze, understanding how exposed a lot of our frontline staff were throughout the height of the pandemic without correct PPE, but additionally that Tory friends and donors appeared to be awarded £2 billion worth of contracts creates increasingly serious questions for government.
“The federal government have long rejected Labour’s demand basic transparency by publishing the VIP fast lane, however this cannot continue given new revelations of corruption risk, as well as companies without correct certification being permitted to jump the queue.
“As we are still missing a completely independent Advisor on Ministerial Standards, along with a Register of Ministers’ Interests, the federal government must require ministers to publish openly and with full transparency, communications together and people businesses who have won contracts since the pandemic begun and emergency procurement was introduced. Otherwise it’s increasingly clear that it is some rules for ministers and their good friends, and another for everyone else.”
