Tory minister accused of cronyism after affiliate’s agency employed as adviser

A well being minister has been accused of cronyism after an in depth affiliate turned a £1,500-a-day adviser on the “40 new hospitals” programme, regardless of officers elevating a sequence of detailed objections together with perceived conflicts of curiosity.

Nick Markham helped to make sure that the Division of Well being and Social Care handed a £137,460 contract to iDevelop, a administration consultancy run by Nigel Crainey. In doing so, he overrode issues from civil servants who had warned that the contract was not wanted and didn’t signify worth for cash and likewise that the 2 males’s relationship meant that it posed “reputational danger” for the division and the NHS.

Requested by NHS England what the premise was for partaking iDevelop to be an “professional adviser” to Lord Markham, a senior official within the DHSC’s new hospitals workforce replied: “As a result of now we have been informed to.”

Detailed communications between the well being division and NHS England, obtained below freedom of knowledge legal guidelines, present that Markham seems to have ignored main disquiet amongst his personal officers and insisted that the contract go to his affiliate. There was no formal tendering course of.

Wes Streeting, the shadow well being secretary, mentioned the contract illustrated the federal government’s “waste, cronyism and corruption” and misplaced priorities over the brand new hospitals programme (NHP), the federal government’s car for delivering the “40 new hospitals by 2030” promise, made by Boris Johnson within the 2019 normal election marketing campaign.

The programme was closely criticised after the Observer revealed final yr that solely 10 of the promised hospitals had acquired planning permission. The cross-party public accounts committee said in November that it had “no confidence that the promised new amenities shall be constructed” and that they is perhaps “too small even when they’re”.

One inner DHSC doc reveals that the panel of officers inspecting the contract raised a number of units of issues about it going to Crainey’s agency. Crainey, a chartered occupational psychologist, is iDevelop’s managing director.

In a single part, headed “reputational danger”, the panel mentioned: “This is among the NHS’s greatest programmes and a key manifesto dedication. Can we justify that such a high-profile contract is to be awarded to a provider with none formal aggressive choice course of?

“There’s a danger of unhealthy publicity referring to this contract through the HSJ [Health Service Journal] and/or exterior stress teams.”

They then highlighted how the hyperlinks between Markham and Crainey specifically risked creating a foul impression. Markham beforehand chaired London Continental Railways, the regeneration arm of the Division for Transport, whereas Crainey was its chief operations and transformation officer.

“The provider’s fundamental contact level is thought to the minister and is presently on a honorary/professional bono contract with the DHSC,” the panel mentioned. “How did we mitigate towards the perceived conflicts of curiosity? How did we mitigate towards the notion of the provider creating a necessity for themselves to ship?”

Steve Barclay, the well being secretary when the contract for Crainey’s consultancy was being mentioned in mid-2023, accepted the contract regardless of officers’ objections, emails present.

Crainey’s agency had been contracted to offer recommendation for usually three days every week for the six months between August 2023 and January 2024 at a day price of as much as £1,527.33.

On 12 June final yr, an NHS England official requested “whether or not now we have approvals in place for this appointment – I think not”. A counterpart within the division’s NHP workforce replied: “Sure we do, from [the secretary of state].”

In a scathing report final November on the NHP, the general public accounts committee (PAC) mentioned it was “over-reliant on consultants”. Consultants made up 62% of its workforce in February 2023, “creating dangers of lack of continuity and functionality on the coronary heart of the programme in addition to making it costlier”, the MPs mentioned.

The NHP spent £70m – 79% of its operating prices – on consultancy companies between April 2021 and March 2023. It informed the PAC it deliberate to spend one other £842m on consultants between 2023/24 and 2030/31.

The civil servants’ issues disclosed within the paperwork solid doubt on the well being division’s insistence to the HSJ final November that there was a “clear justification” for the contract.

Markham, a businessman and former ITV government, responded to questions from the Guardian about his function within the contract by redirecting them to the DHSC “given this pertains to authorities enterprise”. The DHSC mentioned normal election guidelines meant that it couldn’t reply.

A Whitehall supply mentioned: “Using consultants on main authorities tasks is commonplace apply, and people engaged on the NHP present experience on a variety of topics, together with technical design and building. The contractor had beforehand labored with the Division for Transport on main building tasks.”

Crainey declined to remark.

Streeting mentioned: “No marvel the Conservatives have did not ship a single new hospital they promised. They’re extra keen on lining their mates’ pockets with taxpayers’ money than they’re in rebuilding the NHS. Individuals are fed up with the waste, cronyism and corruption of this Conservative authorities.”