Latest news with #GeorgiaGould
Daily Mail
26-05-2025
- Business
- Daily Mail
Ministers ban civil servants from buying gay and trans pride flag lanyards in drive to reduce 'wasteful spending'
Civil servants will be banned from buying lanyards featuring a gay and trans pride flag under a clampdown on 'wasteful spending' in Whitehall, ministers have confirmed. Purchasing cords for security passes that feature the 'progress flag' will be affected by a review of taxpayers money spent on 'corporate-branded and non-essential merchandise'. The flag features the Pride rainbow flag but adds other stripes and chevrons to represent other 'marginalised communities' including transgender and those with HIV /AIDS. And in an answer to a written question by Tory MP Mike Wood, first reported by the Times, Cabinet Office Minister Georgia Gould confirmed that flag-bearing lanyards were included in the review. She noted that staff will be allowed to wear their existing lanyards, but added: 'The announcement sets out the requirements for all departments to review their policies on procuring corporate-branded and non-essential merchandise, with a view to restricting future purchases. 'These stricter rules will permit government merchandise only when essential, for example, in overseas trade and diplomacy, or to promote growth.' The Cabinet Office announced last month that it planned to refuse to fork out for 'unnecessary branded merchandise' and staff 'away days'. Senior minister Pat McFadden said that 'cutting wasteful spending' means cash can be targeted on other public services such as the police and schools. Ministers have pledged to slash the cost of bureaucracy, and the latest measures come after civil service credit cards were frozen. The Cabinet Office set out requirements for departments to review their policies on branded and non-essential merchandise, with the idea that future purchases could be restricted. New rules will mean that Government-branded kit will only be allowed when it is essential for official work such as overseas diplomacy. As well as the restrictions on merchandise, officials will be told that team-building days will have to be held in Government buildings to avoid paying to hire venues. Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Mr McFadden said: 'By cutting wasteful spending we can target resources at frontline public services with more teachers, extra hospital appointments and police back on the beat. 'We will use taxpayers' money to deliver our Plan for Change, kick-starting economic growth, rebuilding the NHS and strengthening our borders.'
Telegraph
25-03-2025
- Telegraph
Net zero subsidy scheme for electric vehicle chargers triggers wave of fraud
A taxpayer-funded subsidy scheme for electric vehicle chargers has been hit by a wave of fraud. The Department for Transport (DfT) paid out tens of thousands of pounds to fraudsters who pretended to have installed chargers outside their homes, a report has revealed. Part of the Government's net zero drive, the electric vehicle homecharge scheme (EVHS) allowed members of the public to claim up to £500 towards the cost of a charger. But an investigation revealed that the 'photo evidence' submitted with some claims was actually 'generic images from online sources'. Dozens of fraudulent claims were discovered from people sending the same image as 'proof' for multiple applications. Civil servants were instructed to use artificial intelligence tools to verify that photos sent to the scheme were legitimate, and had not just been copied from the internet. A review of work by government fraud experts said that 'key fraud risks were identified'. They included 'installers submitting generic images from online sources' and 'duplicate images presented as evidence of different installations to claim additional funds'. The department was able to recover tens of thousands of pounds of fraudulent claims with its AI tool, which the report said saved 100 years' worth of manual verification work. The original EV charging scheme has since been shut down, but the Government still offers a £350 subsidy for some claimants installing chargers at their homes. The latest fraud report said that the DfT would now apply its AI tools to other schemes that require photo verification in the hunt for more fraud. The NAO has advised the Civil Service to do more with AI and data analytics tools so that fraud can be identified before government money is given away. Net zero schemes are a hotbed of fraud Net zero subsidy schemes have become a hotbed of fraud, with the NAO warning last year that 'environmental benefits can be purposefully overstated and negative impacts understated' when claimants apply for government funding. Scammers have also pretended to help claimants apply for green subsidies to steal their financial information. In total, fraud and error in the public sector is estimated to cost the taxpayer up to £81 billion each year through a combination of deliberate criminal activity and Civil Service mistakes, although the figure during the pandemic was much higher. The Telegraph previously revealed that an official investigation into £160 million of Covid loan fraud cases had so far secured just 12 convictions since the pandemic and would never recover its costs. Georgia Gould, a Cabinet Office minister, said on Monday that the Government was 'taking comprehensive action to protect public money and ensure it delivers the services we all rely on'. She added: 'When criminals target the public sector, they don't just steal money – they undermine vital services that our communities depend upon and fuel organised crime networks that threaten our national security.'
Telegraph
26-02-2025
- Business
- Telegraph
Rayner announces investigation into seven firms over Grenfell fire
Angela Rayner has condemned as 'mercenary' seven companies set to be investigated over the Grenfell Tower fire, which cost the lives of 72 people. The firms, criticised by the Grenfell Tower Inquiry, could be banned from public contracts after the Government pledged to bring change following the fatal fire. Cladding and insulation companies will be investigated for 'failings' in relation to the west London tower's refurbishment under new powers, Parliament was told. The announcement came as the Government formally responded to the recommendations set out last September in the inquiry's final report. Speaking in the Commons on Wednesday, the Deputy Prime Minister said 'companies must be held to account' as she announced the investigation. Ms Rayner, who is also the Housing, Communities and Local Government Secretary, said the seven companies whose products were used to refurbish Grenfell Tower could be banned from public contracts in future. Sir Martin Moore-Bick's long-awaited report was released in September following a seven-year public inquiry which found the 2017 fire had been the 'culmination of decades of failure' by government and the building industry. Ms Rayner told MPs that the report had found firms whose products were used to refurbish the tower, including Arconic, Kingspan and Celotex, had 'acted with systemic dishonesty' and mis-sold their wares. She said: 'Their disgraceful mercenary behaviour put profit before people and exploited the regulatory regime to evade accountability with fatal consequences. 'And to my disgust and their shame, some have shown little remorse and have refused to even help fix the building safety crisis that they did so much to create. 'Companies must be held to account for their role in Grenfell. The parliamentary secretary to the Cabinet Office [Georgia Gould] is announcing today that she will use new powers under the Procurement Act to investigate Arconic, Kingspan, Saint-Gobain as owners of Celotex at the time, and other organisations. 'And I expect swift, decisive action, and will ensure progress is reported.' Ms Rayner earlier said her department had 'failed to act on known risks and ignored, delayed or disregarded matters affecting the safety of life'. The seven organisations being investigated are: Arconic Architectural Products SAS; Saint-Gobain Construction Products UK Limited, which previously owned Celotex Limited; Exova (UK) Limited; Harley Facades Limited; Kingspan Insulation Limited; Rydon Maintenance Limited; and Studio E Architects Limited. In a written statement, Georgia Gould, the Cabinet Office parliamentary secretary, said the firms would be investigated under new debarment powers in the Procurement Act 2023. She wrote: 'These investigations will establish whether the organisations have engaged in professional misconduct for the purposes of that Act.' The organisations would be notified when an investigation was opened, she said, adding that investigations into other organisations could take place. Ms Gould said: 'The new Act allows us to investigate suppliers and, if certain grounds are met, to add their names to a published and centrally managed debarment list, which must be taken into account by contracting authorities in awarding new contracts and undertaking new procurements.' Responding to the Grenfell Tower Inquiry final report in the Commons, the Deputy Prime Minister said: 'The inquiry chair Sir Martin Moore-Bick and his dedicated team uncovered damning evidence of political, corporate and individual failings going back decades. 'These led to the loss of 72 innocent lives – 18 of them were children. 'On that terrible night in June 2017 it was deadly betrayal, a national tragedy that must never happen again. 'I will repeat today what the Prime Minister [Sir Keir Starmer] said in September to bereaved families, the survivors, and those in the immediate Grenfell community, some of whom are with us today in the gallery. On behalf of the Government, the British state and those responsible: I am very sorry.' Ms Rayner went on to say that Sir Martin's 'most devastating conclusion was that every single death was avoidable'. Earlier this month, the Government announced that the tower, the remains of which have stood in place in west London since the fire almost eight years ago, would be 'carefully' demolished in a process likely to take two years. Police and prosecutors have previously said investigators would need until the end of 2025 to complete their inquiry into the fire, with final decisions on potential criminal charges by the end of 2026. Ms Rayner said 'justice must be done' and that the Metropolitan Police had the Government's 'full support' in its investigation. Dawn Butler, a former Labour minister, said all officials who treated the Grenfell residents badly must be held to account. The MP for Brent East told the Commons: 'Will the Secretary of State agree with me that as well as the chief executives of the companies, all of the people in the council who treated the residents badly and didn't listen to them because of what they looked like, everybody needs to be held accountable?' Ms Rayner, in her reply, said: 'I absolutely agree with [Ms Butler]. At the heart of the new regulatory regime is a requirement that all landlords treat their tenants with fairness and respect.' She added: 'Social landlords are required to understand and provide information and support that recognises the diverse needs of their tenants, including those arising from protected characteristics. 'This hasn't been so in the past and, if I'm honest, it doesn't feel when I speak to the residents of the community that it is that today, and that's why I've pushed the council in that particular area. 'And that's why this Government is bringing forward legislation that says we respect people whether they're social tenants or private tenants – they deserve a safe and secure home, and be treated with dignity and respect.'
