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Written question asked by Lord Bassam of Brighton (Labour) on Monday, 5 March 2018, in the House of Lords. It was due for an answer on Monday, 19 March 2018. It was answered by Lord Young of Cookham (Conservative) on Monday, 19 March 2018 on behalf of the Cabinet Office.

Carillion: Insolvency

Question

To ask Her Majesty's Government who in the ministerial team in the Cabinet Office was responsible for oversight of Her Majesty's Government’s Carillion contracts; whether proposals were presented by Ernst and Young to the Cabinet Office in December 2017; if so, what were those proposals; what assessment they made of the extent to which any such proposals might have saved public funds, protected employee pensions and avoided the company becoming bankrupt; whether they decided not to proceed with those proposals; and if so, at what level that decision was made.

Answer

The Minister for Government Resilience and Efficiency (until 8 January 2018) and the Minister for Implementation (since 9 January) have had Ministerial responsibility for public procurement policy, including the strategic supplier risk management policy, but the responsibility for overseeing individual contracts with Carillion rests with individual contracting authorities.

In July 2017, Carillion engaged EY to assist with its restructuring plans. Government was not a party to this arrangement but we understand that EY’s recommendations were considered by Carillion’s board on 19 December.

The proposals from EY were put before the directors of Carillion, for their consideration and for them to act on accordingly, in line with their director duties. EY did not present this information to HMG. We were privy to the contents of the report after it had been presented to the Carillion Board, which enabled us to prepare for the various scenarios facing Carillion.

The decisions and conduct of the management of the company will be investigated by the Official Receiver.

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
HL5997
Session
2017-19
Subjects
Contracts Government departments Insolvency EY Carillion
Link
View this Written question on www.parliament.uk