Roger Godsiff – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2016-10-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many times officials in his Department responsible for procurement checked whether a contractor employed by his Department was under investigation for corruption with law enforcement agencies in the last two years.

Harriett Baldwin

The Ministry of Defence (MOD) routinely carries out checks on potential contractors prior to contract award, including on criminal activity, such as convictions for tax evasion, bribery or fraud, and a review of a company’s audited accounts. These enquiries are conducted in accordance with the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 and the Defence and Security Public Contracts Regulations 2011.

This process is reiterated in all competitive and single source tender documentation issued to tenderers prior to any contract award.

Any suspicion of corruption is reported to the appropriate authority. Where justified, the MOD can exclude potential suppliers who pose an unacceptable risk to public money.