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View our privacy policyThe Cabinet Office have finally published the remaining Covid Ventilator Challenge contracts – and the waste is shocking.
We have uncovered details of a new contract awarded by the Cabinet Office to a company called SameDay Plc to provide services that included the “destruction”, “dismantling” and “recycling” of ventilators – further adding to the mountain of waste generated from the government’s flagship ventilator programme.
In total, £277m was spent by the Cabinet Office procuring ventilators during the pandemic with an eye-watering £143m going to waste.
Back in February 2021, former Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, told Parliament that details of all Covid contracts were now “on the record”. A few months later, Cabinet Minister Julia Lopez claimed “all historical Covid-related contracts” had been published.
Neither statement was true.
Last month, in response to us having taken the first step in legal proceedings, the Government admitted it had breached its own transparency policy in what it called a “regrettable oversight” – and it committed to publishing the 29 missing contracts.
In its response, Government Legal Department representing the Cabinet Office said:
“Our client is currently reviewing its compliance with the Transparency Policy in relation to the Contracts. As a result of this ongoing review, it has become apparent that information was not published in accordance with the Transparency Policy, which our client notes is a regrettable oversight. Consequently, our client will publish any outstanding information (subject to any redactions/exemptions that may apply) by 28 February 2023.”
This week, the Cabinet Office finally published the missing deals plus a handful of previously unseen contract awards. We can reveal:
The publication of these missing contracts is another win for transparency.
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