A FIRM run by a councillor was given a £156 million contract to import personal protective equipment without any competition, it has emerged.
Steve Dechan, a Tory councillor in Stroud, signed the contract in May despite having suffered financial losses in 2019, openDemocracy reported. The firm's track-record in importing PPE is not clear.
Dechan stood down from the council in August, but previously made headlines when P14 Medical was given a contract worth nearly £120m to supply face shields to the UK Government. The £156m contract for gowns was signed in May, but details were only made public last month.
READ MORE: Firm run by Michelle Mone's ex-associate handed £112m NHS contract
Information on P14’s experience in procuring PPE appears to have been added recently. The firm describes itself as an “experienced medical device distributor”.
It comes after questions have been raised over big contracts given to small firms linked to the Tories during the pandemic. It emerged this week that a former business associate of Conservative peer Baroness Mone was given a £122m contract to supply PPE shortly after launching a company.
Transparency International’s Steve Goodrich told openDemocracy when this “happens again and again it reeks of cronyism”.
He went on: “Continuing to award major public contracts without competitive tender fuels the perception that political patronage matters more than suitability for the job. In order to ensure best value for money is being secured, the Government should return to open, competitive tendering in all but the most exceptional cases.”
Dechan previously told the BBC that P14 is an “expert company that has been in medical supplies for eight years including PPE”.
He added: "I only know a couple MPs through local campaigning on issues, only met ministers (no current ones) on [General Election] campaign trails. Never discussed PPE.
"We are so proud that we stood up and unlike many got it done and protected our customers."
A spokesperson for the Department of Health and Social Care said: “Proper due diligence is carried out for all government contracts and we take these checks extremely seriously.”
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