Hancock accused of ‘cronyism’ over shares
Labour has said there are “serious questions to answer” after it was revealed that Health Secretary Matt Hancock has shares in a family company which has contracts with the NHS.
Mr Hancock declared in the MPS’ register of interests in March of this year that he now owns shares in company Topwood Limited, which specialises in secure storage, shredding and scanning of documents.
The Health Service Journal (HSJ) reported that the firm, which is owned by his sister, won a place on a framework to provide services to the English NHS in 2019.
It also reported that the Health Secretary did not declare his connection to the company in the relevant register of interests, a claim which has been rejected by the government.
A government spokeswoman said the Health Secretary had acted “entirely properly in these circumstances” and that all declarations of interest have been
made “in accordance with the ministerial code”.
Meanwhile, a Whitehall source said that the Health Secretary has no active participation in running Topwood Limited and that neither he nor the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) were involved in awarding the contracts.
The source said that Mr Hancock had discussed with the department’s top civil servant, the Permanent Secretary, that he was to be gifted the shares in the firm before accepting them.
The SNP’S Kirsten Oswald MP said: “The stench of cronyism is unavoidable.”