Extract from Westminster
Hall debate on Covid-19: NAO Report on Government
Procurement
(Liverpool, Walton) (Lab):...The Government’s
procurement transformation advisory panel contains some voices that
are welcome in shaping Government procurement policy—the University
of Sussex’s Centre for the Study of Corruption, for instance, is
one of them. However, there are serious concerns about other
appointments to the panel, most notably Amazon.
Amazon has already been awarded 82 central
Government contracts, worth £225 million, in the past five years,
and has a deal enabling local councils to buy supplies in one
marketplace. The manner in which Amazonis
embedding itself into national and regional public procurement is,
in the words of of the Fair Tax Mark, “truly frightening”.
How can it be right that Amazon should be given
such a position of influence over Government procurement policy,
while raking in hundreds of millions in Government contracts
itself? Considering Amazon’s record on meeting
its tax obligations, why should a company that refuses to pay its
fair share into the public purse be in a position to profit so
handsomely from it? Can the Minister tell me by what process
members of the procurement transformation advisory panel were
appointed? What steps, if any, were taken to identify and address
potential conflicts of interest, and will the minutes of the
meeting be published?
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