‘Cronyism’ row over £150,000 Welsh NHS contract
A COMPANY owned by the sister of England’s health minister Matt Hancock won a £150,000 contract with NHS Wales.
UK Government cabinet minister Mr Hancock owns more than 15% of the shares of a company called Topwood Ltd which is based on Wrexham Industrial Estate in Wrexham.
The company specialises in the secure storage, shredding and scanning of documents. Its director Emily Gilruth is Matt Hancock’s sister.
Its contract with the NHS, which appears twice on the public sector contracts page, is to provide confidential waste destruction for Betsi Cadwaladr health board.
Mr Hancock has no role in or responsibility for the Welsh NHS. But questions have been raised about why a company so closely connected with him won a place as a potential supplier to the English NHS on the Shared Businesses Services framework.
The Health Service Journal (HSJ) broke the story and reported that securing a place on the framework makes it easier for local NHS organisations to use the firm for their waste disposal services, by providing a “compliant route to market”, according to the published contract award notice.
Topwood won a place on the framework in 2019, the year after Mr Hancock became health secretary.
Justin Madders MP, Labour’s shadow health minister, said: “It is now clear this Conservative Government has been infected with widespread cronyism and is unable to identify where the line is drawn between personal and departmental interests. It’s one rule for them, another for everybody else.
“There are serious questions to answer from Matt Hancock and there needs to be a full inquiry and immediate publication of all documents relating to Topwood’s acceptance onto the framework contract in 2019.”
Commenting to the HSJ, the Department of Health and Social Care said that: “All declarations of interest have been made in accordance with the ministerial code.”
It added that neither Mr Hancock nor the department had any role in contract awards, and no active involvement in the company. It said he had discussed the recent gift to him of shares in the firm with the permanent secretary before accepting them, and had been told that any conflicts which may arise could be appropriately handled.
It said the new shareholding in the firm was only known about because Mr Hancock has followed transparency rules - it came to light because it has recently been published in the MPS’ register of interests.
Labour has said there are “serious questions to answer”.
A Government spokeswoman said Mr Hancock had acted “entirely properly in these circumstances” and that all declarations of interest have been made “in accordance with the ministerial code”.
Asked if Boris Johnson still had full confidence in Mr Hancock, a No 10 spokesman said: “Yes.”
Meanwhile, a Whitehall source said 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 Mr Hancock had discussed with the department’s top civil servant, the Permanent Secretary, that he was to be given the shares in the firm before accepting them.
At this point it was decided that, if any conflicts of interest did arise, they could be dealt with in line with the ministerial code, which sets out standards of conduct for ministers.
Mr Hancock has no responsibility for NHS Wales, which reportedly awarded the firm £300,000 worth of contracts, as health is a devolved matter and so dealt with by the Welsh Government.
It follows accusations of “cronyism” within Government by Labour, which is calling for a full inquiry into the Greensill Capital lobbying controversy.
Speaking on a Holyrood election campaign visit to Scotland, Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer told the PA news agency: “We need to get to the bottom of this, we cannot have this situation where there’s apparent double jobbing.
“If these were one-offs, that would be one thing, but at the moment we are getting drip, drip every day more evidence of cronyism and of the return to sleaze in government.
“That is why we the Labour Party are calling for a full and transparent inquiry that can get to the bottom of this so we can have stronger laws in place but make no mistake this is the return to Tory sleaze.
“We’re not going to give up on the argument there needs to be a full inquiry into this. The Prime Minister is setting up a very narrow inquiry with a government appointee from a law firm that actually lobbied to loosen the lobbying laws, you couldn’t make it up.
“We need this wider review, this wider inquiry. The Government shouldn’t have blocked that last week. If they are saying ‘we want to get to the bottom of it’ then let them get to the bottom of it, so support the call for this independent inquiry.”
Labour deputy leader
Angela Rayner said it “appears that the Health Secretary has breached the ministerial code” and demanded that he explain why he failed to declare that his sister is a director of the company.
She said: “It is clear that Tory sleaze and cronyism has engulfed this Government, making it even more urgent that the Government publish the delayed register of ministers’ interests in full immediately.
“Given it was the Health Secretary who was found by the courts to have acted unlawfully on contract transparency, with this latest scandal the public will rightly expect the utmost transparency.”
William Wragg, who is chairman of the Commons Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee, said there are questions about whether the register was updated with details of Mr Hancock’s sister.
“I think his record, from his personal point of view, is up to date. I think the question is, was his register updated with that of his sibling?” the Conservative MP told Times Radio.
The committee announced on Thursday that it would be carrying out an inquiry into lobbying and business appointments issues that have come to light since the Greensill row.
A Government spokeswoman said: “Mr Hancock has acted entirely properly in these circumstances. All declarations of interest have been made in accordance with the ministerial code.
“Ministers have no involvement in the awarding of these contracts, and no conflict of interest arises.”
‘‘ It is now clear this Conservative Government has been infected with widespread cronyism and is unable to identify where the line is drawn between personal and departmental interests
- Shadow health minister Justin Madders