Work for Public Accounts Committee

The news that the government has awarded a £347m Covid-19 testing contract to Randox, "a Tory-linked private healthcare company", comes as no surprise, given the number of similar contracts awarded to the private sector, where profit is still the goal, regardless of a nationwide crisis (Tory-linked company awarded new £347m Covid-testing contract, 05/11/20). The facts that the Tory MP Owen Patterson earns more as a consultant for the company than he does working for his constituents, that the company`s previous work resulted in the recall of 750,000 kits because of their lack of sterility, and that no "other companies were asked to bid", all suggest an immediate investigation is required. As the role of the Public Accounts Committee is, according to parliament`s website, to "monitor public spending across the whole of the Government, with particular focus on ensuring value for money for the taxpayer", it is clearly one of the first ports of call for investigating such "cronyism", and has, indeed, started an inquiry into "Government procurement", with the deadline for evidence being 2nd December. Is a committee with 9 Tory MPs and only 5 Labour members really going to get to grips with the problem? What is evidently required is a demand from Labour for a public inquiry., not only into the awarding of contracts, but into the judiciousness of MPs having second jobs. A salary of over three times the national average, plus very generous expenses, and subsidised meals in the Commons, should be more than adequate for anyone dedicated to such public service. If not, the conclusion has to be that they`re in the wrong job!