• Privacy policy
  • T&C’s
  • About Us
    • FAQ
    • Meet the Team
  • Contact us
TLE ONLINE SHOP!
  • TLE
  • News
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Sport
  • Opinion
  • Elevenses
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • Film
    • Lifestyle
      • Horoscopes
    • Lottery Results
      • Lotto
      • Thunderball
      • Set For Life
      • EuroMillions
  • Food
    • All Food
    • Recipes
  • Property
  • Travel
  • Tech/Auto
No Result
View All Result
The London Economic
SUPPORT THE LONDON ECONOMIC
NEWSLETTER
  • TLE
  • News
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Sport
  • Opinion
  • Elevenses
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • Film
    • Lifestyle
      • Horoscopes
    • Lottery Results
      • Lotto
      • Thunderball
      • Set For Life
      • EuroMillions
  • Food
    • All Food
    • Recipes
  • Property
  • Travel
  • Tech/Auto
No Result
View All Result
The London Economic
No Result
View All Result
Home News

Free school meal contract given without tender to company with “limited evidence” of its capacity to deliver

A report by the National Audit Office found Edenred's IT capacity was inadequate to meet the challenge of supplying vouchers to up to 1.4 million children.

Jack Peat by Jack Peat
2020-12-02 10:47
in News
FacebookTwitterLinkedinEmailWhatsapp

Evidence that rigged tender processes and cronyism may extend beyond the PPE fiasco has surfaced today after it was revealed a company familiar to the Government bagged a £425 million contract to deliver free school meal vouchers despite having “limited evidence” of its capacity to do the job.

An investigation into the troubled scheme, which left many families without food during lockdown, has revealed that the tender was awarded to the French-owned company Edenred, despite the government’s own assessment that the company’s UK arm did not have the financial standing that would normally be required for the scale of contract, according to a report by the National Audit Office (NAO).

The public spending watchdog said the firm was appointed to run the scheme using an existing government framework contract as it was already a supplier to a number of government departments, but its handling of the process quickly unravelled.

Within weeks schools across England were complaining of problems in registering for the £15-per-child weekly vouchers, with the Edenred helpline receiving almost 4,000 calls and nearly 9,000 emails a day from frustrated school staff and parents.

At the height of the crisis, ministers were forced to intervene directly and Department for Education officials held daily calls with Edenred to monitor progress.

The NAO report notes that Edenred’s IT capacity was inadequate to meet the challenge of supplying vouchers to up to 1.4 million children who were eligible for free school meals, using an off-the-shelf system to save time.

The solution smacks of the revelations that Britain’s ‘world-beating’ Test and Trace system was being run on Excel which led to records being dropped off when the spreadsheet reached its maximum size.

RelatedPosts

Mogg will be pleased! Government staff work in corridors over desks shortage

Good Friday agreement: People moved by Liam Neeson’s cameo in final episode of Derry Girls

Anger as Govt brands Disability News Service ‘vexatious’ for trying to acquire info on DWP deaths

BBC says govt took broadcaster to court to block story of MI5 agent using secret status to terrorise girlfriend

The lack of a tender process also has the familiar hallmarks of the PPE fiasco which has seen multi-million pound contracts handed out to companies with close connections to the government.

Related: Valerie Vaz questions Rees-Mogg on “My Little Crony” map in parliament

Since you are here

Since you are here, we wanted to ask for your help.

Journalism in Britain is under threat. The government is becoming increasingly authoritarian and our media is run by a handful of billionaires, most of whom reside overseas and all of them have strong political allegiances and financial motivations.

Our mission is to hold the powerful to account. It is vital that free media is allowed to exist to expose hypocrisy, corruption, wrongdoing and abuse of power. But we can't do it without you.

If you can afford to contribute a small donation to the site it will help us to continue our work in the best interests of the public. We only ask you to donate what you can afford, with an option to cancel your subscription at any point.

To donate or subscribe to The London Economic, click here.

The TLE shop is also now open, with all profits going to supporting our work.

The shop can be found here.

You can also SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER .

Subscribe to our Newsletter

View our  Privacy Policy and Terms & Conditions

Trending on TLE

  • All
  • trending
Abdollah

‘Rescue us’: Afghan teacher begs UK to help him escape Taliban

CHOMSKY: “If Corbyn had been elected, Britain would be pursuing a much more sane course”

What If We Got Rid Of Prisons?

More from TLE

Giant panda’s habitat ‘threatened by grazing livestock’

Hilarious DUP billboard backfires spectacularly

Half Term Activity – How to Make a Pinhole Camera

‘Osmosis of corruption’: The viral James O’Brien video that has racked up over 2 million views

At least 1,000 Covid-19 deaths per day for most of April, analysis shows

Watch – New process contributing to sea level rise and climate change discovered

Location, Location: What Do Home Buyers Really Want?

Tories ‘failing a whole generation of children’ with rising homelessness and poverty warns Corbyn

Barefoot and fancy free in Soho’s House of Sole

Pan-Seared Steak with Mushrooms And Thyme

About Us

TheLondonEconomic.com – Open, accessible and accountable news, sport, culture and lifestyle.

Read more

© 2019 thelondoneconomic.com - TLE, International House, 24 Holborn Viaduct, London EC1A 2BN. All Rights Reserved.




No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Sport
  • Entertainment
  • Lifestyle
  • Food
  • Travel
  • More…
    • Elevenses
    • Opinion
    • Property
    • Tech & Auto
  • About Us
    • Meet the Team
    • Privacy policy
  • Contact us

© 2019 thelondoneconomic.com - TLE, International House, 24 Holborn Viaduct, London EC1A 2BN. All Rights Reserved.