Unpeeling the Fluff - Layer by Layer - Part 5

The investigation of 9/4000+ government contracts

In Failed Covid Contracts, we provided examples of contracts awarded to various bodies by sundry governmental agencies during the madness of 2020-21.

We used Contract Finder, a helpful tool that identified nine of the most atypical contracts we could find. They all have some common features. High value, all together £249,283,153 of our money, lack of clarity as to what the tender was about, all issued during the panicky 2020-21 period and, most of all, lack of visible deliverables.

In other words: what did we get for a quarter of a billion? How did Joe or Jane Taxpayer benefit from all of this kerfuffle?

We crafted nine FOI requests related to the nine tenders, essentially asking the same question: what did we receive for our money?

In this series, we keep you informed about our efforts to hold these bodies accountable for their actions. We number them 1 to 9. Any answers (we shall be so lucky) or subsequent substantive activity (so, not receipts) will be numbered 2a, 2b and so on.

This fifth post of the series is about a 3-month contract awarded on 21 August 2021, worth  GBP 21,600,000 to bolster lab capacity to EUROFINS BIOMNIS UK LIMITED.

Here is the first attempt at finding out more about the fourth contract on our list.

The Announcement provides some general statements of requirements. However, if you scroll down to “more information”, you get a 55-page document.